Return of the Master
by Xanderick
Summary: Buffy is faced with The Master's return after he is ressurected by a demon named Laibach, who is bent on opening a portal up to merge the world with his Hell dimension. Based off the first Buffy Xbox game
1. Bad Dreams

**Prologue**

_Buffy walked through the ornate double doors, into a dark, narrow, hallway. The floor and walls were covered with stone. Dust and cobwebs spotted the dank passage from floor to ceiling. _

_Buffy walked further along the stone passage. Fire rose from flaming pits. Chains clanked and swayed from the ceilings._

"Nice. It kinda has that interior decorator from Hell thing happening."

_The passage soon opened up into a vast chamber. It appeared to be a huge chapel, only this didn't look like a place of prayer._

"Ever had the feeling you've been somewhere before?"

_Buffy knew she was talking to herself, but she couldn't shake the familiar feeling that the place was giving her, serious wiggins. _

"Slaaaaaaaayer."

_The tiny hairs on the back of her neck rose. She raised her fist up in a basic Slayer fighting stance, her senses on DefCon Five. Three glowing forms of energy materialized in the center of the chapel. A figure appeared in each of the three forms. Each figure appeared to be a gagged man. A black cloth covered the eyes or mouth of each. One of the figures had a metallic sphere swiveling around it. Another appeared to be attached to two elongated metal rods, while the other was just surrounded by a glowing sphere of energy. Their bodies twitched as of in agony. _

"Which one of you is Curly?"

_She knew it was a dumb joke, but it shook off the major wiggins that they were giving her. The feeling didn't last too long as another figure materialized out of nowhere. But unlike the gagged trio, Buffy recognized who this was. _

_The Master_

_Buffy stared as the Master floated towards her, the three figures soon forgotten. She was in pure shock. She wanted to run, but her legs wouldn't budge. She stared on in stunned silence. _

"What's the matter Slayer? You act like you seen a ghost."

_She wanted to retaliate to the smart comment, but the effort was fruitless. Her voice refused to cooperate _

"What? No witty banter? I'm crushed. I had built up so much nostalgia for our reunion. Ah well…"

_He grabbed her neck before she had a chance to act. She felt the sharp pain immediately after as the Master bit into her neck. It was all over. She stared blankly at the ceiling as she felt the life force drain out of her. _

Buffy jumped up from her pillow. Her face broke out in a cold sweat. She shook her head, trying to get the image of the dream out of her head. This was one of the many nightmares The Master appeared in since the night she killed him with what had to be the biggest stake in her career, but this dream felt different. This one felt _real._

Buffy crawled out of bed and went down into the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water and swigged it down. She was pouring herself another glass when she heard a shuffling sound in the living room. Her body tensed up and she listened for another sound.

"Honey?" Her nerves cooled at the sound of the familiar voice.

"In here mom." Buffy called.

Joyce Summers walked into the kitchen wearing purple silk pajama pants and a matching top. Her mom always knew how to stay beautiful, even when she got out of bed. Buffy hoped she would be like that when she gets older.

_If I get older. Let's not forget the expiration date that's posted on the Slayer label. _

"Buffy, what are you still doing up? It's three in the morning" Joyce said with a worried look on her face. Buffy was used to that look. Her mom had been worried about her since the night she found out she was the Slayer. She was sorry she had to put that kinda burden on her. Her mother cared so much for her.

"I know. I just had a nightmare, that's all. I'm fine mom, really." Buffy said calmly.

"Another one? Sweetie what is it that's been bothering you so much? Is it your ex-boyfriend, Angel? Because…" Buffy cut off her sentence.

"No mom, it's not. It's nothing you should be worried about right now."

"Buffy, you know that is not true. I am always worried about you, always will be. It's my job. What kind of mother would I be if I wasn't?" Joyce walked up to her daughter and embraced her. Buffy managed a weak smile.

"I know. It's just I don't like to put this much on you. You shouldn't have to worry about me all the time. If I could have a better life for you, I would. But it's my duty to make sure you and the rest of the world are safe." Buffy said.

"It's okay honey. You just go back upstairs and get some sleep. You have a history test tomorrow. You did study right?" Joyce asked.

Buffy smiled. "Sure. Goodnight mom."

"Goodnight sweetie."

Buffy grabbed her glass of water, went back upstairs, and plopped into her bed.

_First things first. Tell Giles about my weird dream. I have a feeling that something big is about to go down._

**Chapter 1: Bad Dreams**

"I guess I'll be seeing ya." Oz said as he gave her a soft wave and jumped into his van. Willow returned the small gesture and stared sadly as Oz started the engine. He had a gig in L.A with the Dingoes and would be gone for a few days.

_It's gonna take a lot of chocolate to make up for those few days. Maybe me and Buffy could have a brownie pig-out, complete with a full night of Hindi TV. _

"I'll call you later to check out how things are going. You won't even know I was gone."

"Don't worry, we'll hold down the school. You have a good time in L.A, I'll miss you." Willow said sadly.

Oz leaned out the window and pecked her on the cheek.

"I'll miss you too." With that, he drove off, waving his hand out the window as he disappeared down the road. Willow stared on. The sound of the lunch bell snapped her back to reality. She grabbed her backpack and headed back to class.

"Why the long face?" A familiar voice asked her. Willow turned around to see Buffy's shiny face, only she looked like Not-So-Shiny Buffy today.

"Hey. I was just watching Oz leave. He's on his way to L.A for that gig. He's gonna be gone for a few days." Willow replied

"Bummer." Buffy said. Buffy looked down at the ground in troubled thought, and then she suddenly perked up.

"Hey! We can make it up with a brownie pig-out later tonight and maybe watch a little more of that Hindi TV?" Buffy asked happily. Once again, Buffy managed to make Willow smile.

"It's like you read my mind. That sounds like a perfect idea." Willow said

"Oh crap, sorry Will, I just remembered. I have to go to cheerleading practice tonight." Buffy said worriedly.

"Cheerleading? Buffy I thought you gave that up awhile ago after that whole incident with Amy's mom being a witch." Willow asked.

"I know, but I'm doing this as a promise to Cordelia. Her squad is a few girls short this year and she was practically on her knees begging me to join."

"Are we talking about the same Cordelia?" Willow asked

"I know I can't believe it either." Buffy said as she stared off into the distance.

"Buffy, are you okay? You don't look too well today." Willow asked worriedly. Buffy gave her a forced smile.

"I haven't been getting much sleep lately. I've been having a lot of bad dreams this past week. The Master has been making a lot of cameo appearances in them lately." Buffy replied. Willow perked up.

"At least you know they're not serious, right? I mean, you already killed the Master, _twice. _Like Xander said, you 'ground his bones to make your bread.' He can't come back again, right?" Willow grew nervous. "Right?"

"Right Will. But I still feel like I need to tell Giles, just to be on the safe side. Also, The Master isn't the only one I've been seeing in my sleep lately. Like just last night, I saw these three weird…" Buffy voice trailed off as they entered their history class.

"Get inside, hurry. Leave everything off your desk except a Number 2 pencil, don't talk or you will immediately receive a failing grade."

_Crap I forgot about the history test._

Willow took out two pencils and threw one to Buffy, a knot forming in her stomach as the teacher went around with the tests.

---

The place where vampires hunted and demons sulked. The place where evil cults planned to overthrow mankind. The place known for its huge obituary section in the Sunday paper. The place where the Slayer roamed night after night trying to keep things in order. Yep, Spike was back in bloody Sunny Hell, and wasn't all too happy about it either, too many bad memories.

_If it wasn't for that sodding bitch and her vampire Nancy Boy running around, I would have nothing to hide from._

Spike hated Sunnydale; there wasn't anything he could think of about it that he liked. But he had no choice. Dru was stuck in some kind of trance. She kept mentioning something about some demon named Laibach and Sunnydale. Spike knew she was crazy, and he had Angelus to thank for that, but she was acting crazier that usual, as if something was taking over her mind. Spike seeked help by contacting a local sorcerer. The sorcerer seemed afraid after taking a look at Dru, and told him that he had to summon the demon in Sunnydale and do as it said, or Drusilla's fragile mind will crumble, reducing her to ash.

The sorcerer told him Laibach's plans to take over the world. He planned to build a bridge between his demon world, and this world to cause Hell-on-Earth. He needed the Master to help him build this bridge, but the Master was already dead. He took over Drusilla's mind to gain corporeal form and go to Sunnydale to resurrect the Master. Spike wasn't too thrilled in bringing the Master back, but he'd do anything for his beloved Dru. The sorcerer also told him about a vampire pair by the name of Malik and Scylla, and a skilled necromancer named Matereani. They were supposed to be skilled in raising demons and stuff. The sorcerer gave him the address, and in return, Spike killed him.

_For the road_

Spike took the address of the trio and told them about his little adventure. They agreed to aid him and now the five of them were in Sunnydale. Spike regretted coming here the moment he set foot back in the Hellmouth. He had promised to the Slayer never to return here again, and he was all too happy not to, but here he was.

By the time they got to Sunnydale, Drusilla was rendered brain dead. She could not move nor speak. Spike laid her by the alter and ordered Malik to retrieve the spell book from Sunnydale High's library when the sun went down. He didn't want to risk being caught by the Slayer or any of her Wannabes. The main priority was to save Dru, the last thing he needed was Buffy on his arse.

He hated Malik. He was one of those reformed vamps, always taking orders; he was never one for orders. He had to admit though that having him around was proving to be a true convenience. He would stake himself in the heart if Spike asked him too.

_Sounds fun. I might have him try that after I get Dru back._

Spike took a long drag from his cig and lay down on the alter by Drusilla's still form. Remembering the good hunting days with her and promised pure vengeance on the bitch who did this to her.

---

Finally, the end of school. Xander felt like this day was dragging by forever. It was a Monday after all, which were usually gloomy.

_Extra gloomy if you consider that I live on a Hellmouth._

Unlike most kids his age who spent their hours after school hanging out with friends at the movies or at the park, his after-school hours were spent all day in a musty library, or out in the middle of the night risking his neck alongside the Buffster, while at the same time trying to come up with an excuse every night on why he's coming home every night with some sort of bodily injury or not coming home at all.

Xander walked down the hallway, lost in thought as Cordelia dragged along behind him on another one of her fashion rants. She was going on about some dress she fell in love with on her visit to the mall on Saturday.

Even though he loved her, Xander still couldn't figure out how he hooked up with Cordelia. They couldn't stand each other then and they can't really stand each other now.

_Except for when we sneak in the broom closet everyday during lunch, which is always fun._

Everyone else couldn't see how they hooked up either. He remembered how hurt Willow was when she found the both of them kissing behind a stack of books. She still had feelings for him even though she was going out with Oz at the time, and it hurt her to see him kissing Cordelia out of all people, when he was supposed to be the Treasurer of the We Hate Cordelia Club. Willow was over it now. She and Oz have a strong relationship going on and he and Cordelia's relationship was still going strong.

_There's still something about Willow that makes me love her more than any girl in the world. I don't know if it's her cute school girl innocence, or the fact that we've known each other for so long._

He knew that she had Oz, but there was something about Willow that couldn't stop him from wanting to be around her all the time, and the same for her about him it seemed. They both knew that they should move on, that they had their current relationships to worry about. But whenever Xander was around her, he couldn't help but love that adorable little twinkle in her eye or that soft innocent smile that seemed to be imprinted on her face. And whenever they found each other alone, he couldn't help but want to kiss…

"Xander? I'm talking to you! It wouldn't hurt to give me an answer!" Cordelia said angrily. Xander snapped out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Yeah, I say go with the blue."

"Xander are you even listening to me?" Cordelia asked.

Just then, Xander saw Buffy hit the corner, she was heading towards somewhere in a rush. Xander saw this as a quick escape.

"Buffy! My blonde little pal, how are ya?" Xander asked all too happily. Buffy stopped and turned around, she looked a mess. Her hair was out of place and there were dark circles around her eyes.

"Hey Xand. I'm doing okay. Not counting the fact that I just blew the history test, but I'm recovering." Buffy said quietly

"Buffy are you..." Xander was just about to finish his sentence till Cordelia cut him off

"Buffy you look like crap." Xander punched her in the arm

"Ow! What, she does! I'm just being honest!" Cordelia said innocently. Xander decided to just ignore her. There was no need to start anything with Cordelia right now.

Buffy talked quickly. "I'm fine. Just haven't been getting much sleep lately. I've been having these weird dreams that have been keeping me up all night. I'm about to go hurry up and talk to Giles before cheerleading practice. I still gotta run home and get my practice outfit."

"Didn't ya hear? Giles is out. He went to England for a little while to fill the Council in on the whole incident with Gwendolyn Post. But he should be back later on tonight. Me and Willow are going to meet up with him in the library to get him settled back in while you and Cordy are at practice. You know a welcome home party. You want me to bring it up to him?" Xander asked.

"No, I'll tell him later on tonight….How come they couldn't of just talked about it over the phone?" Buffy asked. Xander shrugged.

"I dunno. They're British. I guess to them a story doesn't feel the same without a face-to-face conversation over a cup of tea." Xander said. Then Buffy suddenly brightened up.

"It figures. Well Xand, I'll see you later, I gotta go get ready. Cordy, see you at practice." Buffy took off. Just then, Cordelia turned to face him.

"See you later, I gotta get ready too." she gave him a small peck on the cheek and took off in the opposite direction as Buffy. Xander was all alone.


	2. After School Hours Pt I

**Chapter 2: After School Hours Pt. I**

It was late, and Cordelia was tired. They had been practicing cheerleading for well over three hours and the squad wasn't getting any better.

_And it's a simple cheer. It's not like we're trying to remember a whole song by the Fugees or anything. And it's not like Miss I'm-The-Slayer was doing the squad any good. _

Cordelia was having serious doubts over choosing Buffy to fill in for the lack of girls who joined this year, she was horrible. She kept flying all over the place and she could never get the cheer right.

_Hell even Willow would've been a better choice._

The girls continued the cheer. Cordelia heard it so many times over the past hour she felt like her head was about to explode.

_The mighty mighty Razorbacks_

_Everywhere we go, people wanna know_

_Who we are so we tell them _

_We are the mighty mighty Razorbacks _

Cordelia stopped the cheer for what felt like the zillionth time.

"Okay, okay. Let's take a short break." Cordelia said impatiently. She needed this time to talk to Buffy. She didn't want to have to, but if Buffy kept messing up on the cheer she would have to let her go.

"A little reminder Buffy. I know you're like MVP when it comes to offing the butt-ugly supernatural beasties, but cheerleading is an entirely different discipline. Please, try to pay attention."

Buffy let out an exhausted sigh and shrugged her shoulders.

_I so don't want to be here right now. _

"Sorry, just feeling a little oogy. Haven't had much luck with the quality Z's lately, bad dreams. And, let's do forget I'm doing this as a favor to you. I'm over the pursuit of fame and glory of cheerleading." Buffy said tiredly. Cordelia shook her head.

"It's a crushing blow to the world of synchronized shouting. Okay girls, let's take that last one again, but this time I…" a loud click echoed through the gymnasium, and the whole room was engulfed in darkness. Buffy felt her heart jump up to her throat.

_Don't panic. Just get everyone out and find Giles. _

"Cordy, get everyone in the supply closet and keep them quiet till I come for you. I'm gonna try to contact the janitor and see if I can get Creepy Pete to turn the lights back on." Buffy said quickly.

Cordelia nodded her head and motioned the girls to follow her out of the gym. Buffy waited till the last girl ran out and she followed after.

_I so don't need this right now._

She closed the doors behind her and pulled out her stake, ready for anything to attack.

---

Giles was extremely tired. The flight back home was long and dull. Despite the lulling sound of the engine, and the relaxing quiet of the plane, besides the occasional cry of an infant, he was unable to get much sleep. He stayed up for almost the entire flight reading a technology magazine he found behind the seat in front of him, and watched a couple of the in flight movies, _Titanic _and _Mrs. Doubtfire_, both of which he didn't care much for.

He arrived back at the library, heading straight for his small office inside, anticipating a good nap by his desk. He opened the door and got more than he bargained for.

"SURPRISE!" Xander and Willow both jumped out at him as he swung open the double doors of the library. He fell back against the check-out desk in pure surprise.

_At least they succeeded in the surprise part._

Willow ran up and embraced him. He weakly returned the hug, still in shock from their scare.

"Welcome home, G Man." Xander said as he patted him roughly on the back.

"Xander, I asked you never to call me that again." Giles said tiredly. Xander just smiled at him.

"Sorry, G Man. How was your flight?" Xander asked happily. Giles just shook his head and pushed him out of the way. He tried to get into his office but Willow stood in his way, with a plate in her hands.

"We made you cookies! We sorta figured, you know, with the all the salty in-flight peanuts and all, you would want something sweet...We made you cookies!" Willow said cheerfully. Giles looked down at the plate.

"Are those chocolate chip?" Giles asked, amused. Willow nodded her head energetically. Giles smiled. He couldn't stay cranky at them too long. Giles took the plate and nodded thanks. Willow scooted over to Xander and Giles went into his office and shut the door. He could hear them outside.

"Score one for the Scoobs." he heard Willow say.

"See, I told you, go for the chocolate chip." Xander said. Then he said in a girlish voice

"But Xander, I think he likes oatmeal raisin. We should make those instead" Giles heard a smack as Willow punched him in the arm.

"Okay, ow." Xander said. That was all Giles heard before he drifted off to sleep.

Giles was suddenly awoken by a rough shake. He looked up quickly to see Willow's worry-stricken face.

"Giles! All the lights in the school cut out! Xander went out to look for Buffy and Cordelia. What do you think happened?" Willow cried. Giles felt a little slurry at first, but perked up when he realized what was going on.

"I don't know, but it could be something pretty dangerous. I don't like the idea of Xander taking off and about on his own, go out and follow him. If the both of you can find Cordelia and Buffy, great. But hurry back." Giles said worriedly. Willow gave a grim face of resolution, nodded her head and took off. Giles took off his glasses and rubbed at his eyes.

_Please be safe. All of you_

_---_

Buffy walked into the boy's locker room. The room was ransacked. Most, if not all of the lockers were broken off of there hinges, and one of the wooden benches were broken in half.

She heard a muffled sound behind the door leading out of the locker room. She readied her stake and pulled the door open. Mr. Campbell, her physics teacher stood in the doorway. He suddenly dropped to the floor, and a vampire stood in his place.

Buffy stood in awe as the vampire lashed out at her, sending her flying backwards. She crashed against the lockers on the back wall. Pain shot out through every part of her body. She got up quickly, trying to ignore it. She reached for her stake, but it wasn't there.

_Crap, I must have dropped it. _

"Come here Slayer!" The vampire said as he ran up to her.

"Gladly." Buffy retorted. Before the vampire had time to react, Buffy grabbed him by the shoulders, and gathering most of her strength, tossed him to the side. Buffy was rewarded with the sound of wood connecting with flesh as the vampire landed cleanly on the broken bench. The vampire was stuck on the bench, the broken edge putruding through his chest. He stayed there for a millisecond before he dissipated into a cloud of dust.

"Wow, that was easy."

Buffy let out a sigh of relief, but it disappeared as she saw the lifeless body of her physics teacher lying on the floor.

_Oh Mr. Campbell. Even in the most boring physics class I never would've wished this on you._

Even though she felt sorry for the teacher, she knew she couldn't let her emotions get the best of her. People died and there wasn't anything she could do about it.

_I wonder how Faith would've handled it._

She didn't want to think about Faith right now. Faith was still angry at the rest of them. A couple of days ago, a woman named Gwendolyn Post came to Sunnydale and tricked them into thinking that she was Faith's new Watcher. She was really an ex-Watcher who had come to retrieve the Glove of Myhnegon to gain power and had convinced Faith that they were all against her. While she was just saying that to get Faith to help her, most of it was true. They had been shutting Faith out from their missions and didn't realize it.

_Faith is too mad at us now though. I don't think any of us should bother her._

Buffy decided to let it go and move on. If Mr. Campbell had been wandering around school when the vampire caught him, there was no telling who else was on campus.

_Not to mention Cordelia and the other cheerleaders. And oh God, didn't Xander and Willow say they were gonna stay on campus when Giles arrived? They must still be here and there's no telling how many other vamps are trying to take over the school._

As if on cue, Buffy heard a scream. She ran, following the source of the noise to the girl's bathroom. It was one of the cheerleaders, Erin if Buffy remembered her name right. Erin was in the bathroom, backing away from something. A vampire suddenly came into view, smacking his lips and looking hungrily at Erin.

"Right now you're every pretty girl that ever ignored me. Time for payback." The vampire smirked.

Buffy reacted quickly. She ran up to the vampire and met the side of his face with her fist. The vampire fell back in surprise. Before he had time to retaliate, Buffy staked him in the chest, and he was reduced to dust.

Buffy turned around to see Erin on her knees, sobbing. Buffy knelt over to comfort her.

"It's okay, I took care of him. He won't hurt you. Are you gonna be okay?" Buffy asked. Erin shook her head.

"They're missing…all the other girls. I don't know what happened…We were all following Cordelia…or so I thought. But when I looked around…they were all gone. I was by myself…I must of gotten separated. Then I saw that guy…that _thing…_and he chased me back all the way over here." Erin cried out between sobs.

"It will be okay. You just stay in here, lock the door. I'll go find the others and see what I can do about the power." Buffy said quickly. Erin nodded her head sadly. Buffy nodded back in return and got back up. Talking to Giles could wait, she had to go and find the others before anyone else got killed tonight.

---

Willow hid behind the desk in the classroom. After Giles told her to go find the rest of the gang, she took the magnetic keycard and used it to get all the way over here. Luckily the backup generator was on long enough for the electronic locks to be working.

_But not now._

Just as she made it to the side of the school by the gymnasium, a group of vampires attacked her. She tried to fight back, only losing her stake in the process. She tried to go back the way she came but the door was locked. She figured the generator stopped working, so she was stuck. Willow ran in the other direction, with the vamps on her heels. She picked up her pace and ran faster than her legs could carry her. She felt ready to give up until she found an open classroom door. She quickly ran in and locked it shut. She stayed along the far wall and listened for noises outside, but it was silent.

_I must've lost them._

Suddenly Willow heard a shuffling noise outside in the hallways. She heard heavy breathing as the figure came closer to the door. The figure stopped in front of the door. The door opened up and Buffy stood in the doorway, sweaty and panting.

_I thought I locked that. _

"Willow! Your okay!" Buffy said happily. Then she must of saw Willow's worried expression because her smile quickly faded.

"You are okay, aren't you?" Buffy asked worriedly. Willow shook her head.

"Xander and Cordelia are missing. I tried to find them but a group of vampires chased me here. I would go back out and find them but they cut the power, never a good thing. Does that make me a pessimist to say that's a bad omen? Cutting the power, I'm guessing they're smarter than the average bear, or average vampire bear. And here's another thought on a collision course with my terror, there are magnetic locks on all the main doors. Here take this" Willow handed her the keycard.

"You won't be able to open them until the power comes back on."

"Then we have to get the power back on. Just stay here, keep your head down." Buffy said quickly.

"Absolutely. Classroom. Always felt right at home in a classroom. Yep, gonna stay right here with the chalk." Willow said breathlessly. Buffy smiled at her and walked out the room. She turned around and faced her.

"Take care of yourself." Buffy said

"You too." Willow smiled back. Buffy closed the door behind her Willow walked up to the door and locked it tightly. She let out a deep breath.

_I hope this all blows over soon._

_---_

Xander walked down the dark corridors of Sunnydale High. He looked up and down the hallways in search of Buffy and Cordelia, but the search seemed to be a waste of time. He ran out of the library when the lights had suddenly cut off. It was a stupid idea running out on his own with nothing but a bat to protect him from the forces of darkness, one that he was sure he would regret later. He felt stupid thinking that he could fight on his own. He needed Buffy

_I guess you can just chalk it up to teenage hormones. _

Xander walked out into the front of the school. The area was empty and deserted.

_Well duh. It's after-school. No one would be dumb enough to stay here in the middle of the night. Of course, unless, you were, um, saving the world. _

Xander walked out in front of the school, headed towards the double doors on the far left when he heard growling. He stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around slowly and saw pairs of yellow eyes glowering at him. The vampires walked out into the moonlight and came into view. There was about five or six of them. They licked their fangs and glared hungrily at him. There was just too many of them, Xander didn't stand a chance. He turned around and ran towards the double doors. He heard the vampires howl behind him and give chase. He ran faster to the doors. He reached for the handled and yanked tightly, but the doors wouldn't budge. They were sealed tight.

"Oh crap."

---

Buffy fell unceremoniously on her ass. She had to admit, this was one tough vamp. The vampire growled and ran towards her. Buffy positioned herself as the vamp came at full speed. When the vamp got close enough, Buffy jumped up quickly and grabbed her wrist all in one swift motion. Then she purposely fell backwards, still holding on to the vamps wrist, flinging the vampire across the hallway.

The vampire got back up quickly stunned. Then she shook her head and faced Buffy.

"I never paid attention to girls like you before…" The vampire retorted. Buffy took this opportunity to throw the stake. The stake hit the vamp square in the chest during her taunt, and she turned to dust.

"Maybe you should have paid more attention then." Buffy smirked. She walked up to where the vampire stood and picked up her stake.

_That was the seventh vampire tonight. I fought two before I talked to Willow and this is the fifth one since then. Where are they all coming from? What is it that that really wants?_

Buffy didn't know. She knew she was going to have to talk to Giles, fast. But she wasn't going anywhere until she found out her friends were safe.

"That's it; the only way these leeches are getting out of here is through a dustpan." Buffy said angrily.

Buffy opened up the double doors that led to the quad. Her body cooled off immediately as the cool night air rushed at her skin. She saw a huge figure jump in the corner of her eye. She looked up and saw a huge vampire on top of the roof ahead of her. The vampire jumped swiftly from the rooftop, onto the balcony below, and flew through the sliding-glass door on the balcony in one swift motion.

"What's this? New blood or more than likely the recycled kind?"

Buffy decided to chase after him. She ran towards the balcony, onto the planter below. She hopped up onto the planter, and using her Slayer strength, leaped up and grabbed the edge of the balcony. She hoisted herself up and landed firmly on top. She took out her stake and walked through the new doorway the vampire made. She saw a lone wooden chair lying on its back in the ransacked office. She lifted her foot and crashed it down onto the chair. She took a couple of the broken legs and put them away in sweat pants just in case.

She exited the office out the door and towards the stairs. She went down the stairs carefully, just in case the big macho guy was waiting for her, she still wanted the element of surprise. The door in front of the bottom of the steps was slightly ajar. Buffy crept up and slowly opened the door. To her surprise, a body laid still in a chair in front of a desk. Buffy crept up behind the chair and slowly turned it around. The face of the janitor stared blankly at her, his throat cut opened.

The door behind her suddenly slammed. She turned around, stake drawn. A vampire with dark, spiked hair stood in front of the closed door. He wiggled a pair of keys in front of him.

"Are you looking for these? If you want them, you have to kill me first!" The vampire yelled.

"I thought you'd never ask." Buffy smirked.

Buffy ran up to him. The vampire slapped the keys across her face. Buffy jumped back and replied with a swift kick to the chest, followed by a series a fast punches. The vampire doubled over. Buffy took her stake and rammed it into his back. The vampire exploded into a cloud of dust. Buffy grabbed the keys off of the floor and dusted them off. She felt sorry for the janitor, but she knew that she had to get over it. She took the keys and jogged to the basement. She would have to get the power back on herself.

---

Xander managed to get a couple of vampires off of his back with his trusty bat. He knew it wasn't gonna last him long, there was way too many of them.

"Come on, boy. It won't hurt. After twenty minutes, you won't feel a thing." The vampire said calmly

"Oh no. I've been to the dentist's office WAY too many times to fall for THAT again!" Xander blurted.

Two of the vamps rushed at him. He swung his bat blindly through the air, in hopes of hitting one of them.

"Back! Back!" Xander yelled. He was rewarded with the sickening sound as the bat cracked one of them in the skull. The vampire's yellow eyes rolled back in his head and fell to the ground. A few of the vampires backed off. Xander snatched his stake out of his jeans pocket and jammed it into the chest of the fallen vampire. The vampire screamed in agony as Xander missed and the stake went through his gut.

"Curses!" Xander left the stake and backed up from the other vampires. The five of them glared at him hungrily. They all began to advance on him, stepping over the fallen vampire.

Xander was dead meat.

---

Cordelia ran through the hallways in a blind panic. After surviving almost a year with Buffy and the gang, helping them fight vampires and still finding time to get her hair done, Cordelia had never felt more scared. She was alone, and terrified. She lost the rest of the girls back by the gym. A couple of them got tired and stayed behind. And the other three, well, she didn't know what happened to the other three. They probably got eaten or something. All Cordelia was worried about was saving her own ass.

Cordelia continued running through the halls, yelling out Xander's or Buffy's name, in hopes of some sort of reply from one of them.

_Hell even a cheap smart remark from Buffy or one of Xander's lame attempts at a joke would salvage for me right now._

Cordelia screamed out as a pair of hands grabbed her arm and yanked her through the doorway.

"Cordelia shut up!" The figure yelled. Cordelia looked up to see Willow glaring at her. Usually she wouldn't allow anyone, especially Miss Rosenberg to talk to her like that, but she was scared. She grabbed Willow's shirt and started sobbing.

"Willow, I lost them! And I can't find Buffy or Xander anywhere! I don't know what to do!" Willow shushed her and patted her lightly on the back.

"Buffy went out to find a way to get the lights on and running again. I'm sure Xander is with her, or he found a way back to the library with Giles." Willow said calmly.

As if on cue, the lights cut back on. Cordelia heard the soft hum as all the lights outside in the hallway turned on one by one.

"Yes!" Willow cried out gleefully. "Everything's gonna be okay!" Cordelia let go of her shirt and glared menacingly at Willow.

"If you tell anyone about this Rosenberg, I'll personally kill you myself!"

"Your secret is safe with me." Willow replied.

"It better be." Cordelia warned.

---

Giles sat in the dark, munching at cookies and constantly worrying about the Gang's safety. He hoped Willow and Xander both caught up with Buffy and Cordelia, and the four of them were on their way back to the library. The lights suddenly cut back on. Giles was filled with relief.

_Buffy is back in control now, everything is gonna be alright._

His joy was quickly cut off by a large sound in the book stacks. It sounded like a fairly large creature was rummaging through the books. Giles got up and quietly opened up the door and peeked out. A rather large man was rummaging through stacks of books. He had long hair, and pale, white skin similar to The Master.

_He doesn't look like The Master. Unless he somehow came back from the dead and grew hair. _

He decided Buffy should take care of this. Hopefully her hands weren't too full and she was on her way right now. It was a risky idea but he had to use the intercom. He needed Buffy to hurry along quickly before the beast in the library did any real harm.


	3. After School Hours Pt II

**Chapter 3: After School Hours Pt. II**

"Hah. Nothing to this electrician gig. Just flip the big switch and the light comes on. Time for me to join the union." Buffy said happily.

She had finally made it to the main power switch. She fought at least four vampires on her way there. When she made it to the main power, she was surprised. She expected a wall panel with a bunch of fancy switches like on _Jurassic Park_.

Buffy ran out of the basement, via the first electronic door. She took out the card Willow gave her earlier and opened the door. The door opened to a long hallway with pipes running along the ceiling above her. She jogged the whole way. But she stopped suddenly. A vampire stepped in her way, coming from the right intersection.

_I so don't have time for this right now._

"Chick fi…" Buffy dusted the vamp before she finished her sentence. She ran the rest of the way, till she came to a ladder. She dashed up the ladder and ran up the stairs. Just as she made it to the door leading back to the first floor of the school, a loud beep sounded above her head. Buffy looked up to see the intercom. A familiar voice spoke:

_Um…Buffy…this is Giles. A…um…a not to panic. But you should come to the library right away. We have an uninvited guest here attempting to retrieve some books…without a library card. I might have just given myself away. He spotted…CRASH…no! Wait!_

Giles was in trouble! Buffy had to hurry and get to the library. Luckily she would be able to make it. She would have to come back for Willow and the others later, unless they were also on their way to the library.

"Up, up, and away!" Buffy opened the door quickly and ran out into the hallway. Another vampire stepped into her way. Buffy ran at him full speed and tackled him to the ground. She staked the surprised vamp and he turned into a cloud of dust.

_If it's not too much trouble, I could use a little help!_

Giles was still yelling over the intercom, that meant he was still okay.

_But for how long?_

Buffy slammed through the double doors. She was relieved to see the library up ahead. She heard signs of a struggle inside. Buffy picked up speed and ran through the swinging doors.

"If anybody has a hand, I'm about to be eaten!" Giles yelled out as he sat in the corner below the looming vampire. It was the same guy Buffy saw on the roof earlier. He had long hair and pale, white skin. He wore some kinda red skirt-thing and a black strap around his shoulders. He turned to face Buffy. He had the face of any ordinary vampire not counting his huge size, but Buffy noticed a sign was imprinted on his forehead. Whatever that sign stood for there was no doubt he was bad news.

"Hey, what do you think this is, a library?" Buffy asked

_Okay, maybe it is. But that was the best I could come up with right now._

"Just the stray I was looking for. Come out to play." he said in a deep, raspy voice.

"You don't think I'm gonna let you read without a fight." she replied. Buffy took a running start and leaped into the air for a jump kick. The vampire moved quickly out the way. Buffy landed on the ground where the vamp once stood. Buffy felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck as she fell to the ground. Her vision blurred and the room felt like it was spinning.

_Okay he's fast. And damn he's strong_

Buffy knew that a blow to the head like that would kill anyone. But she wasn't just anyone, she was the Slayer.

"Wait till I drag you back to my master!" The vampire retorted. Buffy had a lot of gross remarks to that comment but decided to keep her mouth shut. She jumped up and surprised him with a strong punch combo, finishing with a powerful uppercut which caused him to stumble backwards and fall. Buffy ran up to him and tried to punch him while he was down. She let out a sharp cry of surprise as her fist smashed into the hard tile. Buffy turned around quickly in time to see the vampire's foot as it smashed into her gut. He kicked her in the air and slammed her with a powerful kick that sent her soaring. She landed and rolled back up. She had never felt so dizzy in her life, but she knew she couldn't give up, if she wanted Giles to survive.

Buffy ran towards the stairs.

_This guy is tough. I'm gonna have to come up with a better plan._

The vampire stared at her, flexing his muscles and beckoning for her to come.

"Wow, look. A vampire with loads of macho swagger. Like we had a shortage." Buffy said.

Buffy gathered all the strength she had left and ran towards the vampire. She delivered a series of deadly blows. The vampire staggered back and fell. Buffy took a step back then leaped in the air just as the vampire stood up. Before he had time to react, Buffy was already on him. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. Buffy performed a bicycle kick. Each deadly blow connected with the vampire's torso. The vampire fell to the ground. He stood back up again, but did not attack. Instead he turned around and ran. He ran towards the balcony and jumped on the desk.

"We will continue this later!" He said as he snatched up the book, and with a graceful leap, crashed through the sunroof above, disappearing into the night.

"It's a date." Buffy said to herself.

Buffy heard a painful groan. She ran up to Giles and lifted him up, he looked terrible.

"Giles, how's your noggin?" she asked. Giles fluttered his eyelids and turned to face her.

"Bruised, but otherwise alright. I believe I've taken a resistance to cranial trauma." He replied quietly. He lifted his arm up and Buffy helped him to his feet.

"That must have been a really good book." Giles shook his head.

"It was a rather obscure text on spirit channeling. The author was long-winded and pedantic." Buffy nodded.

"Want me to track him down. Get the book back?" Buffy asked.

"That won't be necessary. The text is seriously out of date. The book won't be any good to anyone but an amateur medium." Giles replied.

"That's fine." You just rest here. I'll go get the others." Buffy said. Giles sat in a nearby chair and closed his eyes. Buffy patted him gently and walked out.

---

_I'm screwed. That's it, it's all over._

Xander cowered against the wall. The bat laid in pieces on the ground by his feet. The vampires advanced on him. He could smell the putrid stench of their last meal.

_Looks like I'm next on the menu._

"Listen, you guys. You don't want me, I eat too much junk food. I'm too high in calories, not good for your figure. And you being undead and all, will have one hell of a time trying to burn that off!" Xander yelled. The vampires continued to advance.

"He talks too much, let's hurry up and kill him." A vampire said impatiently. Suddenly, just like that, the vampires stopped. They stared at each other for a minute, then turned around and left. Xander was ecstatic. He picked up a long piece of the bat and waved it in the air towards them as they walked away.

"Yeah, that's it! You made the right choice! You knew better to mess with Xander the Vampire Slayer!" Xander yelled out at them.

Xander waited till they were gone, then he followed, towards the double doors. He heard a loud moan behind him. He turned around and saw the vampire he tried to kill earlier on the ground, the stake still pierced in his gut. The vampire turned his head and gazed weakly at him.

"I will rip you to shreds and wear your bones as my necklace!" The vampire yelled angrily, but weakly. Xander held back a laugh. He shook his head and walked towards the injured vamp. He knelt down and staked the vampire in the heart with the broken bat. The vampire dusted and the stake fell to the ground. Xander picked it up and put it back in his pocket. He took out the keycard he found in the library earlier and used it on the double doors, towards the library.

---

Willow and Cordelia walked down the hallways. Willow used her keycard to get through the electronic locks. They were lucky to realize there was no vampire in sight. They continued to walk down the hallway. Cordelia looked around in search of Xander, neither him or Buffy was in sight.

Willow heard an electronic beep sound behind the double doors in front of her. The doors opened and Buffy stood in the doorway.

"Wow that was easier than I thought. You two okay?" Buffy asked. Willow nodded her head.

"We're fine. Did you find Xander yet?" Willow asked.

"Some crazy night, huh?" a familiar voice said. The three girls turned to see Xander walking towards them. He had what looked like a broken bat in his hand. He walked towards them smiling.

"Hey girls! Xander Harris reporting. Status: still alive." Cordelia ran towards him and hugged him. Xander returned the hug and they began to kiss. Cordelia suddenly pulled away from him and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Where the hell were you when those monsters were chasing me through the whole school!" Cordelia asked angrily.

"For your information, Cordelia, I was fighting a little war on my own. I had to hold back a group of hungry vamps. Let's just say they were no match for the Xan Man." Xander said proudly. Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, whatever. Can we just get the hell out of here?" Cordelia asked impatiently. Buffy stepped up.

"Finally Cordy, you mentioned something I entirely agree with. Let's get back to the library." Buffy walked back down the hall, Xander and Willow followed behind.

"Not the 'Can we just get the hell out of here' I was talking about, but whatever." Cordelia called out to them. The gang continued walking. Cordelia sighed and ran to catch up.

---

Giles stood up as the gang walked in. He was surprised to find that his head didn't hurt as much as he thought. Either he was telling the truth about developing some resistance to cranial trauma, or the vampire wasn't as strong as he led it to be.

"Thank God, you're all alive. Did everything turn out well?" Giles asked. Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, everything turned out great. We got locked in a pitch black school in the middle of the night with a bunch of homicidal, blood-thirsty savages who chased us around as far as we can go while all of were split up. Now that I think of it, I couldn't think up another night that turned up half as well as this one." she replied sarcastically.

Giles stared at Buffy, unaware of Cordelia's rant. Buffy was aware of his stare, and wore a guilty look on her face.

"Guessing your wondering about the outfit. See I've been doing an independent study to see if vamps are more likely to prey on cheerleaders rather than Slayers because you know…" Buffy said innocently. Giles cut her off.

"Buffy I'm well aware of your return to cheerleading. As long as it doesn't interfere with your duties as Slayer, I have no objections." Giles said calmly. Buffy perked up.

"I like this alternate universe Giles. Is the old one coming back?" she asked.

"Don't be ridiculous, Buffy. The alternate universe Giles has a beard."

"Maybe you should get concussed more often."

"Can we please focus for a moment on the business at hand?" Giles asked impatiently. Buffy wore a serious look and nodded her head.

"I'm the picture of focus."

Willow sat at the computer by the checkout counter. She hacked quickly into the police files and checked the latest reports.

"From what I hear, the police are already claiming the attack was from a gang on PCP." she said as she read off the computer screen. Buffy thought for a moment.

"Does anyone actually still make PCP?" Buffy asked. Willow shrugged her shoulders.

"Hello? Wrong girl to ask. I don't understand how they manage to cover it up with the same excuse as the last time vampires took over the school like this, back when Spike led his gang here to try and kill you."

Xander walked up to a chair and sat at the end of the table with a cookie in his hand. Giles frowned.

"Hey, those are mine." Giles said angrily. Xander finished chewing and began to talk.

"I might be throwing myself in front of the speeding mockery here, but didn't this attack seem more organized than usual?"

"I know. What could anyone want in a library?" Buffy asked. Xander quickly polished off the cookie.

"I'm thinking maybe Cordelia and I outta prowl the reference stacks just in case anything else was taken." Xander replied. Willow peeped up from the computer. Cordelia stood by her, peering over her shoulder.

"I could give you a hand. Not like you guys are all that familiar with the actual books." Willow offered. Cordelia gazed at her.

"Who's talking about books?" she asked.

"Oh. And, oh! Knew that. But stacks, prowling reference…confused but I'm better now. And there's no reason for me to be in the stacks with Xander…with you guys. Enjoy the prowling." Willow said nervously.

"Speaking of books," Buffy interrupted. "What exactly was that big thumbprint on ugly's forehead?" Giles appeared hard at thought.

"Precisely my next avenue of inquiry. While I'm glad our biggest problem of late is a handful of bungling vampires and a stolen library book, I am rather curious about that distinctive mark. Certainly it has some arcane significance." Giles said, almost to himself.

"All this fuss over a stupid book?" Cordelia huffed. "Why don't you people get your priorities straight? Hello? Cheerleading competition this week!"

Willow looked up again.

"So Buffy, you're really gonna go through with the whole cheerleading thing?" she asked. Buffy shrugged.

"I don't know. At first I was doing this as a favor to Cordelia but I might be getting the hang of it. I might just try out for a permanent spot on the squad. It's very empowering. And, there's the rhyming."

"Love the outfit Buff, Zis boom bah!" Xander said. Buffy didn't catch the last part of his sentence as he stuffed another cookie in his mouth. Giles glared angrily at him. Buffy smiled.

"Starting to think vamps do too. Cheerleading uniforms equal vampire magnets." Xander snapped his fingers at her and nodded his head.

"Also known to attract middle-aged men like a backyard bug zapper."

"Xander," Giles said angrily. I ask you not…" Xander cut him off.

"Whew. Well, all this Scoobying has left me a tad parched. The Bronze anyone?" Cordelia and Willow stood up from the computer.

"Yeah, and I thought I was the only one wondering why we're still here when there's loud music, dancing, and catty people watching to be had at The Bronze." Cordelia said. Buffy waved her arms in defeat.

"Audible sigh. Fine. The Bronze it is then since everyone else seems so determined. Let me just go home for a second to change."

Xander, Cordelia, and Willow walked towards the library exit. Xander ran quickly back into Giles' office and came out with another cookie in his mouth. Giles sighed angrily. Xander ran out quickly to catch up with the girls. Buffy started to follow, but turned around to face Giles.

"Wanna come with?" she asked. Giles shook his head.

"Actually, boring as it may seem, I rather think I'll try to accomplish something instead." he replied.

"Alright then, Mr. Responsible, we'll gyrate in your stead." Buffy said happily.

"Please don't." Giles said exhaustedly. Buffy smiled and waved goodbye. She turned around and jogged out the door to catch up with the rest of the gang.


	4. Hostile Takeover

Malik returned back to the church with the book Spike had asked for. He stood in front of Spike and bowed with the book in his hands. Spike snatched it up and flipped through it. Malik and Scylla set up the candles, and Spike arranged Drusilla on the alter. He found the passage. And began to read.

"Right. Let's give this a whirl. 'Oh eternal and all powerful Lord, to whom the darkness itself bows down, from whom flows the damnation of all human kind…'" he turned to Malik.

"Who writes this dross?" he asked. Malik stared back at him impatiently. Spike sighed

_No bloody sense of humor._

He continued reading

"'I call forth, Laibach of the abyss, as you have commanded. Come to me, your most loyal servant beseeches thee.'"

Drusilla's body suddenly animated. Her limbs twitched back and forth and her body rose off the alter, suspended in the air.

"Dru! Let her down you wanker! You got me doing your dirty work long as you got a hold on Dru. But don't push me, old man." Spike scowled.

Laibach spoke in ancient tongue, within Drusilla's body.

"At your urging, I have come, William. Behold my glory."

Spike was familiar with the language. He studied it back in England before his vampire days.

"Oh yeah. Like I had any bloody choice in the matter. I've been a good little errand boy O great and powerful one. Came back to the Hellmouth, reclaimed the Master's old church digs in your name, and regrouped what was left of the Order of Aurelius. Even summoned that Matereani fella - although the necromancer seems to be running a little behind schedule. Maybe he's caught in traffic or something." Spike rambled.

"Keep thy caustic tongue in cheek, vampire. Displease me, and your beloved Drusilla's already fragile mind will be crushed, leaving behind nothing but a pale, pretty shell." Laibach warned. Spike was enraged.

"Bad form to rub it in when you're holding all the cards. But I can't afford to fold. What next, dark lord? How may I serve you further?" Spike asked sarcastically.

"Certain items must be acquired for the coming ceremony. First there must be fresh sacrifices of the flesh." Laibach said. Spike knew just the place.

"Oh I don't see that being too much of a problem. Got a wonderful little flesh palace down the street."

Spike summoned Scylla and told her the plan. She nodded and gathered up a huge group of vampires. They were going to go get a quick drink at The Bronze.

---

Buffy sat at a small table by the steps at The Bronze with Xander and Cordelia. Willow was at the bar, talking to a girl from their physics class.

Buffy's thoughts were interrupted by Cordelia. She was glaring at a couple by the bar. A blonde girl and a cute looking guy Buffy recognized from the football team.

"Just look at that tramp. Some of my sources? They tell me skanky Heather there was throwing herself at Steve Phillips, one of our hunkier linebackers, after football practice yesterday. Shocking coincidence? It just so happens Steve hasn't been heard from since. Now here she is working her tight end on one of our tight ends. You know what I think? I think she's some kind of vampire slut on a mission to kill the precious few remaining hotties at Sunnydale High. She must be stopped. Sick her Buffy!" Cordelia ranted. Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Listen, Miss Kitty. I can't stake every girl who blocks your spotlight. When you saw her yesterday, wasn't it broad daylight? Hello? Vamps have that pesky allergic reaction to the sun." Cordelia just shook her head.

"Okay, maybe she lathered up with the whole econo-tub of ninety sunscreen. Whatever she is, she must be stopped!"

Buffy watched as Heather and Steve walked out.

"Sorry, Cordelia. Looks like another jock fell prey to her trampy wiles. Maybe now we can start enjoying the evening." Buffy said. Xander cut in.

"Jeez, Buff. Jinx us why don't you? That's a cue for something evil to crash in if I ever heard one."

A loud crash sounded in the room. Broken shards of glass fell and shattered on the ground and two vampires landed on their feet. Screams echoed through the room as everyone began rushing out the door. Buffy got up immediately at the sight by the bar. A leather-clad vampire chick rushed in and grabbed Willow forcefully by the arm. She pulled Willow away and pushed her towards the exit.

"Buffy!" Willow screamed. The vampire spoke in a weird, snaky voice.

"Noooo. I want my Sssslayer back." The vampire left the room, pulling Willow along forcefully. Another vampire suddenly jumped in front of her.

"Where do you think your going, Slayer?" with that, the vampire ran towards her. Buffy back flipped in the air and landed on top of the red pool table. She picked up a pool stick and twirled it between her fingers.

The vampire continued to run towards her, but was stopped short as Buffy rammed the stick straight through her heart. She dusted instantly.

"Hey! I've got a bit of vampire problem here!" Xander cried. Buffy turned around to see Xander and Cordelia cowering in a corner with two vampires facing them. Buffy leaped off the table and landed between the two vamps. She took the pool stick and jabbed it in both directions, dusting both vampires successfully.

Buffy dropped the pool stick and ran towards the exit. She had to rescue Willow before anything happened to her.

"Buffy, wait!" Xander called out. Just then, a huge figure crashed through the exit door. Buffy nearly ran into it. She stopped abruptly and looked up at it. It had to be the biggest vampire she had ever seen. It had a thick neck, supporting a huge, bald, solid head that looked like he could knock a person's head off with a quick head butt. He wore a metal chest plate over his broad chest, much similar to a suit of armor. But the scariest part of the creature was his eyes. His eyes glowed bright yellow, leaving Buffy in a trance as he glared at her.

Buffy stared helplessly into the vampire's gaze. The vampire grabbed her by her waist and hoisted her into the air. She heard Xander and Cordelia scream as the vampire lifted her behind his back and tossed her across the room. A chair splintered into pieces as Buffy landed hard on top of it. Buffy winced from the pain but got up quickly. She quickly snapped out of the trance. She knew she couldn't fight this thing. She had another problem to worry about. She looked towards Xander and Cordelia's direction. They were fighting their own war. Another group of vamps had come in and attacked them. Buffy hated to leave them alone, but she had to save Willow. They looked like they were okay on their own. Cordelia had managed to dust one of them, and Xander had another one under control. Buffy turned to see Big Baldy lumbering towards her, careful not to look into his glowing eyes.

"Know what? It's been fun, but I've got a Willow to save." she ran towards the vamp and flipped over him. She landed on her feet behind him and continued running, towards the exit. She looked back to see Big Baldy turn around and start to give chase. Buffy was glad her plan was working, he took the bait.

"Want a piece of me? C'mon, kick my ass." Buffy ran down the steps. She turned around in time to see Big Baldy leap into the air. He landed on the steps, and crashed to the floor as the stairs gave in under his weight. He fell flat on his face among the splinters, and did not move. Buffy smiled, she couldn't help herself.

"Watch that last step, it's a humdinger!" She walked up to the fallen vamp and saw that he was still unmoving.

"Well, the coyote always got up. " She knew he wasn't going to stay like that for long, but it would keep him down for awhile. She just hoped that the next time he came after her, she was ready.

---

Cordelia backed up against the wall, stake in hand. Xander found a couple of legs from a broken wooden chair by the stage and tossed one of them to her. She wasn't into the whole vampire dusting thing, that was supposed to be Buffy's gig. But here she was.

A few feet away from her, Xander was holding back a vampire with a bad, spiked haircut.

_It's amazing how vampires look. It's like, being undead means you don't have to care about your appearance or anything._

A girl vampire kept her backed against the wall. The vampire leaned against her and opened its mouth, reaching for her neck. Cordelia felt a drop of saliva fall onto her blouse. That was it, payback time.

"That's it, you drooled on my blouse! You are so dead!"

Cordelia kneed her in the gut. The vampire doubled over in pain. Cordelia advanced on her and brought the stake down on her back, dusting her.

Xander walked up to Cordelia, breathing heavily.

"Man, I need to learn how to keep my mouth shut sometimes. One day I'm gonna say something that's gonna get us all killed." he said.

"For once, Xander, you learned something I've been trying to teach you for the past year." Xander wore an angry look on his face.

"I'm just mad that Buffy just decided to leave us behind like that. We handled those vamps but I don't think I can hold out for too much longer." he said, angrily.

"Well, she had to go save Willow. But it would've been nice if she would have left us _some _sort of fighting chance."

"Well, we might be alright. Let's just hope nothing else come crashing in." Just then, another group of vampires rushed in through the window. Xander sighed.

"There goes me and my big mouth again."

---

Buffy opened the door into the cool night. A strong smell like burning rubber rushed through in the breeze, Buffy coughed back. She held her nose and ran up the small steps into an open area behind The Bronze.

"Buffy!" She looked up to see Willow looking down at her from the patio above as the vampress dragged her along.

"Willow! I'm on my way!" she called back. Just then, a dark figure appeared out of nowhere and dropped down from the patio, to the ground beside her. Buffy recognized the white-haired vampire instantly.

"Evenin' Slayer. Lovely night for the old mayhem, isn't it." Spike said casually.

"Spike."

"I knew you'd miss me." Spike grinned.

"What are you doing back in Sunnydale, Spike? We had a deal." Spike shrugged his shoulders.

"Sorry, love. Business is business. Guess there's just no honor among us children of the night."

"You shouldn't of come back." Buffy warned.

"Is Buffy sad cuz the Big Bad broke his promise?" Spike asked teasingly.

"Wake up, moron. I'm ecstatic to see you. You shouldn't have come back cuz I've been saving up a big, honkin', serving of whupass just for you." Spike got into vamp face. Buffy got into her Slayer stance.

"Glad you're here. It was getting a bit heavy to carry around."

"Gonna make you bleed, Slayer." Spike charged.

---

Xander was tired. He and Cordelia had managed to put down a couple of vampires, but more kept coming in through the windows. He almost felt ready to give up, to throw his body into the pile of hungry bloodsuckers. Then he thought about Willow. She was in trouble right now, but he knew that if he gave up, Willow would never be able to go on if she survived tonight.

A dark haired vampire jumped in through the windows and instantly advanced on them. Xander charged at her and tried to stake her before she got to them first. Man, she was fast. The vampire grabbed Xander's hand and knocked his stake to the ground.

"What the hell are you doing?" the vampire called out. Xander looked at her and instantly felt sorry for the mistake.

"Faith?" Faith smiled at him.

"That's the name, babe. No time for talk though, pick up your stake and let's show these bitches they screwed with the wrong town." Faith drew out her stake and ran past him to help Cordelia.

Faith came in fast with a flurry of kicks and punches. The two vamps didn't stand a chance against her. She dusted them quickly and turned around to see four more come rushing in.

_Damn, where are they all coming from?_

She ran quickly over to help Xander, Cordelia behind her. The three of them took on the small group of vampires. Xander crippled one of them and dusted him on the floor. Cordelia struggled to fight one of them, and cried out as it grabbed her jacket, tearing the fabric. She looked like she was in tears.

_God, how did she manage to survive for so long?_

Faith made quick work of her vamp and ran to help Cordelia, leaving Xander to handle the other one. She tore the vampire away from her and back kicked it in the chest. She came back in and staked it in the heart. Through the falling ashes, she could see as Xander successfully planted his stake into the heart of the last one.

Faith turned around to see another batch of vampires come flying in through the window. She grabbed Cordelia by the arm and rushed towards the stage.

"C'mon, Xand. Let's get the hell outta here." she pushed Cordelia towards him and he grabbed her and ran to the stage. They both climbed up and Faith followed behind. She jumped up to the window sill and grabbed hold. She let go with one hand, and punched through the glass. It hurt like a bitch, but she would survive. She hoisted herself up and climbed through the broken window. She landed on a stack of crates and turned around to face the window.

"C'mon, guys." she called down to them and extended her arm out. Xander grabbed Cordelia by the waist and lifted her up. Faith grabbed her arms and lifted her through the window, onto the crates. She leaned over the window again and stretched her arm out. The vampires drew nearer. Xander jumped up and grabbed Faith's arm. A few vamps climbed the stage and grabbed at his legs. Xander kicked at them and backed them off. Faith lifted him quickly through the sill, and onto the crates.

Faith and Xander climbed off the crates onto the pavement.

"What now?" Xander asked breathlessly. Faith shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. Go back to the library I guess and see what's up with B."

"Great. The library is fine with me. I couldn't think of a better place I'd rather be." Cordelia said sarcastically. Faith and Xander ignored her and ran towards the library.

---

Spike charged on her in full vamp mode. Buffy sidestepped out of the way and slammed her fist into the side of his head. Spike yelled out in pain and swung at her. Buffy wasn't quick enough and his arm smashed into her throat. Buffy gagged and backed off. She knelt down, coughing furiously.

"Right then, Slayer. It's to be fisticuffs. Try not to get your blood on my jacket." Spike charged at her again. Buffy threw herself down to the ground quickly and grabbed his legs. Buffy twisted her body on the ground and Spike fell over. Buffy heard the sickening thump as his head connected to the pavement. Buffy jumped up.

"I've missed hurting you, Spike." Spike got up to his feet and came at her again, anger burning in his eyes. He threw a series of punches and swings, Buffy managed to block each one. Buffy grinned to herself as Spike attacked.

_It definitely has been awhile since Spike was in a good fight. This is pathetic._

Buffy grabbed both of his arms and pulled him forward, meeting him with a head butt. Spike fell back and Buffy jumped back in on him, throwing a parry of counter punches, each one connecting. Spike managed to block on of her moves and grabbed her arm. He swung at her with his free hand and knocked her in the side of the head. Light flashed in Buffy's eyes and she fell to the ground. She shook her head and looked up at him. Spike turned around and jumped onto the patio above, next to his vampire lackeys.

"That's alright boys. A little game we indulge in, the Slayer n' me. A bit of foreplay before the grand seduction. Courtship rituals, you get the picture. Yeah. One thing I can say about my relationship with the little miss down there…its got fire." He pulled out a glass vile filled with a glowing, orange liquid. Buffy knew what it was. She remembered Giles telling her about it before, but she never actually saw one.

_Hellfire_

It was supposed to be stronger than a Molotov cocktail, kind of like napalm. Buffy jumped out of the way quickly as Spike tossed it down. The vile shattered and flames shot out instantly. The flames disappeared almost as quick as they appeared, leaving a gaping hole where part of the fence once stood. Buffy stood up and jogged through the fence. She hopped onto a stack of old tires and climbed up to the walkway above. She looked down at the fence from the walkway and saw a pile of burning tires.

_Ugh. That's where that smell is coming from_

A vampire chick suddenly jumped in front of her.

"Look, its uptight suburban girl!" The vamp said.

"Sorry, but you must have me confused with Cordelia." Buffy said. The vampire stared at her in confusion. Buffy grabbed her by her shoulder and flipped over her head. She side kicked her in the back and sent her flying. The vampire crashed threw the fence and landed in the burning tires. Buffy heard an agonizing scream followed by the sound of her reducing her dust.

---

Giles sat at the checkout counter, sipping his tea. He felt a little better after taking a Tylenol.

_Well, the room stopped spinning anyways. _

The double doors burst open, and Faith came in, with Xander and Cordelia closely behind.

"Yo Giles." Faith greeted. Xander and Cordelia nodded their heads tiredly.

"Where's Buffy and Willow?" he asked worriedly. Faith sat at the table and propped her feet up.

"I dunno. When I got to The Bronze, B was already gone."

"Buffy went out to save Willow. A bunch of vamps raided the place and took Willow…I hope she's alright." Xander drifted off into thought on the last part of his sentence. Giles sat up.

"A bunch of vamps did what!"

"God, Giles, are you deaf? He said they took Willow." Cordelia said. Giles closed his eyes and counted to ten. He knew he would have to be patient with her.

"I know what he said, Cordelia. I'm just worried about her." Cordelia waved him off and sat down next to Xander.

"Well that's all you had to say. No need to get all huffy." Faith sat up and faced Giles.

"Are you guys gonna argue all night are we gonna do something about this? All this boring talk stuff isn't my type of thing. I need to go out and get sweaty."

Xander coughed. Cordelia punched him in the arm.

"Xander, Cordelia, please. Now, Faith, by all means I do think you're right. You should go back to the area by The Bronze and go find Buffy and help her rescue Willow if she needs help. I don't doubt her skills but I would feel a lot better if the both of you were out there."

"Alright. It's not like I had anything to do tonight anyways. The Fish Tank is closed tonight." Faith said as she rose up from her spot. Xander rose up with her.

"Good, I'm going too. Willow needs me."

"Whoa, Xander. Let's not get too defensive, I'm the girlfriend here, remember?" Cordelia said.

"Sorry, Xand. Three's a crowd." Faith said.

"No. I'm going. I'm not going to sit here and wait while my best friend is out there getting dragged across town by a bunch of leeches."

"Yes you are." Giles said. "As long as I have both Slayers out there, you shouldn't have anything to worry about. If you really want to be some help, you can help me and Cordelia look up on that vampire that ran by here earlier. If you don't want to do research, feel free to sit right here and huff and puff all you like, but you are to stay right here. I don't want to hear a word from it."

Xander shook his head and sat down. Faith came out of the weapons closet, crossbow in hand.

"Later. I got some ass-kicking to attend to." Faith said as she walked out the swinging doors.

---

Buffy landed on her back. The four-legged creature grabbed her foot in its jaws and shook vigorously. She kicked the hound in the jaw with her free foot and it quickly let go. Buffy leaped up standing on her hands and kicked it a few more times in the mouth. The beast fell backwards. Buffy leaped to her feet and staked it on the ground. A burst of flame emitted from the Hellhound and it disintegrated.

_Okay, what the hell was that?_

After her one-on-one with Spike, Buffy followed through the dark alleys behind The Bronze. Upon coming here, she had encountered three vampires, and the four-legged beast she just killed. Just as she had finished dusting a smart ass vampire with a bad haircut, the Hellhound burst through a boarded up wall and charged at her. It looked like a bulldog from hell. The beast had claws the size of pencils, and when it opened its huge maws, it displayed rows and rows of huge, sharp, teeth.

Buffy turned towards the wall where the Hellhound came in from. She noticed a narrow passage which turned towards the left. Figuring it was where Spike and the vampress who had Willow were headed, she followed it.

The short passage led to a vast, open area. A huge water tower loomed over a pool of water, and right behind it, was Willow. She was still being pulled along by the vampress. She was trying her best to put up a fight, but the vampire chick was too strong. Willow turned her head and noticed Buffy.

"Buffy!" she yelled. The vampress looked back and yanked Willow in front of her.

"Maybe you didn't hear me you skanky, blood-sucking ho. Thinking you'd put me down before the Slayer kicked your ass." Willow said indignantly. Buffy smiled. Willow was pretty brave for talking to her like that.

"The Sssslayer. Tell me another one. They all sssay they know the Sssslayer." the vampress said as she pulled Willow along. She pressed something on the wall and disappeared through a brick building.

Buffy leaped up onto a crate and jumped onto the walkway above. She jogged over to the water tower and walked along it towards the building.

"Time to spill your guts, honey." A vampire said as he appeared from behind the tower. Buffy leaped over the rail to her left, knowing that the vamp could easily knock her off. The vampire leaped over to her and punched her in the chin. Buffy kicked out at the vamp, but he quickly dodged it. Her foot smashed into the wooden rail and it broke in pieces. Buffy quickly swooped up a jagged piece.

"Beauty of a sharp stake, no batteries." With that, she stepped forward and stabbed the vamp in the heart, dusting him.

Buffy pressed the switch on the brick wall and the metallic door opened up. Inside was a secret, emptied out room with another huge metal door on the other side. She walked to the door and pushed it open. The door led to the roof of a building, behind a billboard. She walked past the billboard, but stopped short as something hurtled towards her and landed on the wall by her, emitting a burst of flames. The flames licked at her arms, missing her by bare inches.

As soon as the flames dissipated, a vampire jumped up and lunged for her. Buffy made short work of him and jumped of the building, onto the ground below. She ran up the small steps and found a door on the side of the building. Using her Slayer strength, she kicked open the door and entered into a dank, cold hallway. The rest of the hallway was blocked off by wooden planks. She was just about to investigate it further when suddenly the planks burst into splinters and flew at her face. Buffy covered her eyes from the tiny splinters. When she uncovered her eyes, she was staring into the face of Big Baldy.

_He's awake from his nap and he doesn't look all that excited to see me again, better scat. _

Buffy turned around and ran down the long hallway. She could hear the vamp's heavy footsteps behind her as he came rushing. She picked up the pace.

Buffy finally saw the door and felt a sudden burst of salvation. She ran for the door and busted it open, slamming it behind her. She slammed down the heavy bolt and backed from the door. The vampire pounded against the door, attempting to get in.

_I don't know how long that's gonna hold, but I don't want to stay and take notes. _

_---_

Spike was getting irritated. Scylla wasn't moving fast enough for his taste, and Buffy was right behind him.

_Apparently that huge, bald fella isn't doing his job well enough or we would be scraping the Slayer's remains off the pavement with a shovel by now._

"Come on, you lot. Pick up the pace. Slayer'll be on our asses in a minute... Just because you don't see her doesn't mean she isn't there." Spike said, as he pushed Scylla and the witch ahead.

Buffy crossed the railroad track and ran down the ramp behind the fence, and onto the dark alley underneath the railroad.

"Buffy!" Willow screamed as she broke free from the vampire slut's grasp. She ran down the dark alley, and disappeared around the corner. The vampress ran after her. Buffy ran behind her, but was stopped short as a body landed on the pavement in front of her. Spike emerged from the darkened corner, blood trickled from his lips.

"Don't you ever give up Slayer? Bloody hell, feel free to tire out at some point. Or die, if you like. No tears there."

Spike turned around and chased after Scylla and Willow. Scylla snatched Willow up before she got any further. Willow struggled but was unable to break free.

"Help! Buffy's gonna whoop you good, Spike. You're gonna regret bringing your new girlfriend to your old stomping grounds." the witch spat.

"Shut you gob, witch. And she ain't my sodding girlfriend. Luckily for you the ritual requires live sacrifices or I'd shut you up permanent like." Scylla opened up the electronic door and pulled the smart ass redhead through the alley, towards the cemetery. Spike followed behind and the door shut behind them.

---

Jonathan Torres finished his meal, a skinny blonde kid with glasses and a letterman jacket. He wasn't a particularly satisfying meal, he just killed him simply because he didn't like him, plus he was hungry. He was sitting in the alley, waiting for the Slayer when this kid just came up to him and started talking his ass off. His stomach just happened to start growling at the right moment.

Jon sat in an alley behind The Bronze, leaning casually against a dumpster and licking the blood off his fingers. His cohorts were off goofing around, laughing and pushing around some helpless woman they found walking around. They circled around her and kicked and slashed at her, laughing and mocking before they would eventually kill her. Jon felt no remorse. She had no reason walking around a place like this at this time of night.

Jon was sired by Kakistos a few years back. Kakistos was an old vampire, so old that he had hooves for hands. He had seen it all. Kakistos took him up after murdering his parents. He had taught him everything he knew.

But Kakistos was dead now. The Slayer murdered him a couple of months ago shortly after his arrival to Sunnydale. Kakistos, and his other partner, Mr. Trick, went to Sunnydale to chase after her, leaving him behind. Trick informed him of his master's death shortly after. He gathered up the rest of Kakisto's cohorts and went off to Sunnydale to avenge his death. Now they were outside The Bronze, waiting for the Slayer to show up so they could dance in her blood.

Jon heard footsteps in front of The Bronze. He peered around the corner and saw the dark-haired Slayer walk around to the other side of the building. Jon snapped his fingers and the vampires stopped. The woman dropped to the ground, blood oozing out of her mouth. The vampires ran up behind him and prepared for battle. Jon smiled as he anticipated the fear in the Slayer's eyes as Jon watched her slowly die.

---

Faith walked down Downtown Sunnydale, looking around for Buffy. Even though she didn't want to admit it to the others, she hated being out here. She had better things to do than search for Blondie in the middle of the night, like watch TV…okay, she didn't have cable but she could suffice.

Most of the reason she didn't feel like being out here tonight was because she felt like she didn't owe Buffy a goddamn thing. Buffy was the one shutting her out of her life, handling business on her own and having meetings with the gang and not bothering to tell her about it.

_Hell, she would've probably tried to handle this problem alone if I wasn't out patrolling tonight and stumbled in on all this. _

Faith felt shut from the group, like they didn't want her around, like she wasn't needed because they had Buffy.

_If Buffy doesn't want me around, then what the hell am I doing out here looking for her?_

Part of her knew it was because she wanted to be recognized. If the group didn't want her around, she would have to prove to them that they were making a dumb mistake.

Faith walked up to the front of The Bronze. The door was left open, and as Faith peered inside, she realized it was empty. She stepped back out and walked around the side towards the alley in the back.

"Faith."

Faith froze at the sound of her name. She turned around slowly, and faced an army of vampires. One vampire stood in front of them. He had tan skin, black, spiky hair, and sideburns running down the sides of his face. He wore blue, denim jeans, and a matching denim jacket. His jacket was stained with blood from his apparent last meal.

"I've been looking for you."


	5. The Graveyard Shift

The route that Buffy took led to the graveyard. After Spike ran off with Willow, Buffy followed behind and came across a secret passage. She followed the passage, only to find herself in front of Sunnydale Cemetery.

A burst of light emitted in the sky. Buffy looked up to see a hideous figure floating in the air. It was a distorted man made out of flesh and what appeared to be metal. The metal connected with his suit, like some sort of medieval knight from the 7th layer of hell.

"You're new, not to mention hideous. Somebody beat you with a whole tree full of ugly sticks." The demon stared at her silently, still hovering above.

"What, no fearsome words about how I'm going to die in agony, or that I shall rue the day that I crossed your path? Speak now or forever hold you're…" with a sudden flash, the demon disappeared. Buffy saw a bolt of glowing energy fly through the night sky, towards the mausoleum.

"Okay, your fast."

Buffy chased after the bolt. The bolt stopped in front of the mausoleum and changed back into the knight demon. It was then Buffy noticed a metallic sphere on his chest where he heart should have been, glowing energy emitted from the sphere, much stronger than the energy that emitted from the rest of him.

_This must be his power source._

"And now with the glow-in-the-dark jewelry, what's up with that?"

The demon ignored her. He lifted a clawed hand, and blue tendrils shot out towards her. Buffy jumped back, the bolts barely missing her. Another burst of light flashed, and the demon was gone.

"Oh, now that's just rude."

Buffy heard a hair-raising moan not too far away. The moan was followed by three more. Buffy recognized that sound from those _Resident Evil _games that Xander played. Zombies stumbled in front of the mausoleum, towards her. They stared at her hungrily, snapping their jaws open and shut, preparing for their juicy meal.

_Speaking of Resident Evil, a gun or two isn't sounding all that bad right about now. What would Claire Redfield do in a situation like this?_

Buffy could smell the stench of death as it rolled off the walking corpses in waves of revulsion. Buffy stared at the zombies in pure disgust. One of them walked towards her. One of its eyes hung loose from its socket. It walked towards her, reaching its arms out, opening its jaws to take a chunk out of her. Buffy rammed the stake into its chest. The zombie staggered back, stunned. Then it reached its arms up and came for her again.

"Right, not a vampire. Stakes can't kill you. Remember to remind me that next time."

The zombie grabbed her by the throat and brought her face close to its horrible mouth. The horrible stench brought tears to her eyes. Buffy closed her eyes and held her breath. Then with the strength of the Slayer, slammed her forehead into the head of the zombie. Buffy heard a sickening crack as its skull broke in two. The zombie's once again lifeless corpse dropped to the grass.

_Let's hope I don't have to do something like that ever, ever again. _

Buffy looked up to see three more corpses headed in her direction. Buffy holstered her stake and ran towards them. She met the first zombie in the face with a high kick. Its head dropped and rolled across the grass. Buffy ran towards the other two and snapped a kick at the torso at one of them. Buffy decapitated the second before it hit the ground.

"Man you guys fall down easy. If you weren't so disgusting I might've even been a little disappointed."

Buffy heard a loud crack of splintering wood as a door cracked in two. A vampire ran at her recklessly from the small shack. Buffy side-stepped out of his path and snapped his arm back. With her free hand, she took out her stake and thrust it into his chest. He exploded into a cloud of ash.

Buffy looked around to see no more walking corpses. She walked up to the mausoleum and opened it up. The room was a lot bigger than the front made it out to be. The walls were lined floor to ceiling with cubbies that held the bodies of the recently deceased.

_And let's all hope they stay that way._

Buffy looked up and noticed a large sunroof up on the ceiling. Suddenly, the glass shattered and a vampire landed on the floor besides her. The vampire didn't have time to react before Buffy was on him. She thrust the stake forward and stabbed him in the heart. The vampire stared at her in a surprised, comical fashion before he dusted.

Before she had time to catch her breath, the small cubby doors smashed open. A few dozen zombies crawled out of them and stood upright. Buffy ran towards and dove through the zombies blocking her way. She could hear their impatient moans as they watched their meal escape from their grasps. Buffy dove through the door and slammed it shut. She could hear scratching and moaning as the zombies tried to reach her from behind the door.

"Buffy is not on the menu."

Buffy turned away from the door, and was surprised to see the knight demon hovering above in the air. She caught a small glimpse of white hair as it disappeared through a stone building.

The demon raised his clawed hand, and once again, a burst of energy ignited into the air, but the tendrils weren't after her. She watched as the cracks of energy struck the various coffins that littered the cemetery. She watched in awe as more zombies rose from their graves.

Buffy saw something in the corner of her eye. She risked a glance to her left and noticed a shovel protruding from the earth. She jogged towards the shovel and yanked it out. The zombies were already on her.

Buffy swung the shovel, slicing through three of the zombies that were closest to her.

Two of the zombies' heads rolled off as their lifeless bodies slumped to the ground. The third one also went down, but it was cut through the midsection. The lower half of the zombie fell to the ground, unmoving, but the torso was a different story. Buffy watched in amazement as the zombie crawled across the grass towards her.

"Now that's just disgusting." She flipped the shovel over and jammed the handle down into the midsection of its…midsection. The zombie let out one last moan and remained quiet. Buffy made short work of the last two. She let out a deep breath afterwards and wiped the sweat off her face.

"Working the graveyard shift sucks."

---

Jon sat back as his minions attacked Faith. He had to admit, he was impressed. The Slayer was holding her own, but he could tell that she was getting tired. Her fear pulsated off her body in waves, creating a delicious aroma that made Jon want her more.

Jon watched in admiration as Faith dusted two of them. A few more were already crippled and out of the fight.

_And soon it will be time for me to jump in. _

Faith never felt so tired in her life. There had to be at least two dozen of them. Faith knew she would have to rethink the next time she said she was bored. After she dusted two of them, more of them joined the fray. One of them threw a punch out at her and she caught one to the chin. She felt a sudden sharp of pang, as her lip busted, followed by the copper tang as blood flowed from the wound.

Faith risked a glance towards the front of the club and noticed the vampire standing there, watching her intently.

_Why in the hell is he just sitting there?_

Faith didn't have enough time to dwell on it before a vampire lashed out and smacked her across the face.

---

"What's going on here? What happened?" the frightened man asked. Buffy tried to think up an excuse, to not make her seem like she was crazy.

_A bunch of zombies have risen from their graves and are looking for a fleshy treat, how crazier can it get?_

"Apparently some corpses were getting restless, I don't know what's causing it though. It's best you stay put while I go find the cause of this." She knew she couldn't tell him the whole truth; the situation was bad enough as is. No need making it more confusing for him.

_A creepy glowing demon is floating around the cemetery and raising the dead. I'm a vampire Slayer and I'm chasing after him because he is holding me back from a couple of vampires who have my best friend hostage, she's a witch by the way._

The man shook his head vigorously.

"I won't believe this. It's not possible. Your crazy!" he pushed past her and ran out the door. Buffy heard the door slam behind him as he went into the mausoleum.

_Okay, did you not just see the zombie that was trying to eat your face?_

Buffy shook her head. She understood that's how people were in Sunnydale. No matter what they saw, they would just shake it off. They refused to believe that they're town was on top of a Hellmouth. But she still had to go save him. She couldn't let him run out there on his own with those zombies around.

Buffy ran out the closet and into the mausoleum. She held her shovel up, prepared for an attack. Two stone cubbies busted open and a couple of zombies poked out. Buffy raised her shovel and waited for them to get near. When the first one came close, Buffy swung the shovel beneath the zombie's legs. The zombie swept off the ground and smashed against the wall, breaking into pieces. She brought the shovel back up and swung it down into the skull of the next one. The zombie's skull cracked in two and it fell to the ground.

"Somebody help!" Buffy saw the gatekeeper she met in the supply closet running through the dark cemetery. He was running in a blind panic as four to five walking corpses stumbled after him.

_Can't help feeling sorry for the guy, but it's not like I told him so. Better help him._

Buffy jogged quickly through the mausoleum, but was stopped short when the cubbies busted open and out poured more zombies. Buffy went into a frenzy as zombies came at her left and right. Before she realized it, the fight was over. She was left standing in a pile of broken bones and rotting flesh.

Buffy ran out the exit to the mausoleum, into the open air. Buffy heard a gurgled scream, and then it suddenly cut off. A body slumped from the wall and tumbled down the stone steps. The face of the gatekeeper stared up at her as he landed by her feet. Another figure leaped from behind the wall. The vampire stared at her, licking the gatekeeper's blood off his lips.

"Oh look, a bad guy." she smirked

The vampire growled and ran down towards her, but he was no match for the shovel. Buffy swung the shovel into his head. The vampire's yellow eyes rolled back into his head and he fell limply to the floor.

"Numbskull." Buffy said as she brought the handle down into his chest and dusted him.

Buffy ran up the steps and down the hallway. She silently prayed that no more zombies would burst through the walls, but she would have preferred them to what just jumped in front of her path. A Hellhound stared menacingly at her, drool oozed from its enormous jaws. Buffy ran up to and brought the shovel down. She smashed the shovel into its face over and over in a frenzy, in hopes of bringing it down before it did some damage. The hound grabbed the shovel in its jaws and jerked its head back, snatching the shovel forward and jerking Buffy towards it. The shovel slid out of her hands and the Hellhound threw it across the yard. It brought it head back quickly and smashed into her chest. Buffy fell back, and rolled backwards onto her feet as soon as she hit the ground.

The Hound lifted its head up and howled into the night sky. Then it charged at her. Buffy somersaulted into the air as the Hound ran past. Buffy landed behind it and spun around to face it. She withdrew her stake and slammed it into the beasts back before it had a chance to turn around. The Hound let out on last howl before it dusted.

Buffy withdrew a deep breath and picked up her shovel.

_I've wasted too much time. I hope Willow is still alive. _

Buffy ran out of the courtyard, fearing the worst.

---

Faith felt her body starting to give up on her as she dusted the next vamp. She had already killed four of them and managed to put a few more out of the fight, but more of them kept coming. Suddenly, the vampires just back off. Faith looked at them in amazement, until she realized why. The vampire with the denim jacket stepped up, in full vamp face.

"Come on, give a girl a break." she said tiredly

The vampire growled and lunged at her and Faith jumped out of the way. The vampire landed near her and the lunged at her again, before she time to react. He was surprisingly swift. He came back at her swinging. Faith managed to block some of the punches, but even then she cringed to the impact as his powerful fists smashed into her arms.

Faith lashed out a kick to his groin. The vampire doubled over in pain and Faith came back in. She kicked him in the face a few more times. The vampire grabbed her leg and flipped her over. Faith did a 360 in the air and landed painfully on her back. All of the wind was knocked out of her. Faith fought back the darkness as it enveloped her. The whole alley was spinning uncontrollably.

_Can't let this bastard win. It would be a crying shame if B found out I died at the hands of a single vampire._

"This one is for Kakistos!" the vampire said as he launched his self at her.

---

"Nice night to die, don't you think?" the hulking vampire asked her. The vamp was huge. Buffy encountered it in the graveyard, ten zombies later after taming the Hellhound. He busted open a huge iron gate and lumbered towards her.

_Well, at least that takes care of the gate. _

"Yeah, as a matter of fact it is. But you see, I already died once…Well, apparently you did to. But I think it's your turn."

Buffy swung the shovel towards the vamp. The vampire drawled back quickly and lunged forward in one swift motion, catching her off guard and sprawling to the ground. The vampire picked her up from the ground and hoisted her in the air. He tossed her across the yard and she landed at the base of the tree. She jumped back up in time to see the vampire charging furiously at her. Buffy dove out of the way. She heard a sickening crunch, followed by a surprised yell. She glanced up and saw the vampire stuck at the tree, a branch protruding from his back. Then the vamp suddenly dusted.

"He just played the macho scene way to well."

Buffy stood up and picked up her shovel. She walked through the now-open gate and into another courtyard.

"Buffy! This way! Hurry!" Buffy heard the familiar yell of her best friend, and her back was forgotten.

"Cavalry's coming! Don't know why the cavalry always has to tromp through the graveyard, but…cavalry's coming."

Buffy rushed through the courtyard, into an open cemetery. Spike and the vampress walked up the steps into a huge mausoleum, tagging Willow behind. Up above, the knight demon floated, waving his hand in the air and emitting another blue wave of energy. Energy emitted from his clawed hand and swirled around the perimeter of the graveyard. Buffy was trapped in a wall of blue energy.

Dirt flew into the air from a few of the graves. Three zombies shot out and stumbled towards her as they touched the ground. Buffy attacked them with her shovel. Within a minute, all three had dissipated. But soon, they were replaced by more. Buffy eliminated them with a few good swings, but more kept coming. The more she fought, the more they kept coming. She felt like she had been fighting them for hours.

_I'll fight the whole dead population of Sunnydale before I can get to Willow, or else she will join them. _

_---_

Faith brought her foot up just as the vamp reached her and he fell on top of her. Faith grabbed both of his hands and flipped him on his back. Faith sat on top of him and punched him continuously in the face. The vamp grabbed her wrist and twisted. Faith let out a yelp of pain and fell off of him. The vamp got up and kicked her in the ribs. He reached down and grabbed her by the throat, and hoisted her up. He slammed her against the brick wall. The dizzying pain overwhelmed her. Every part of her body was in pain. The vamp leaned against her and licked her across the cheek.

"I always wanted to taste the blood of a Slayer. I've heard it was the greatest feeling in the world. Kakistos would have loved to see me earn this honor, he taught me well." the vamp rambled on.

"I'm sure he would have. But I'll rest assure you, he wouldn't have missed much." Faith brought her stake up and punched it into his chest. The vampire looked up at her pitifully.

"So, is that all there is?" then he dusted.

Faith fell to the ground. She got up slowly, still aching but not as much as earlier. Because of her Slayer healing powers, she was already starting to feel a little better.

"Yep, that's it."

---

The last of the undead fell to the ground, and the barrier dissipated. She looked down at her broken shovel, and picked up a piece of the broken handle. Buffy walked up the steps to the mausoleum and entered. Inside, the vampress still held Willow by the arm, and Spike was nowhere to be seen. Willow glanced up and noticed her.

"Buffy! Be careful, she's stronger than an ordinary vampire!" Willow called out to her.

The vampress slapped her violently across the face and hurtled her across the room. Willow landed on the cold stone floor and scooted back against the wall, cradling her face.

"Hey! Willow!" Buffy faced the vampress and set her jaw, clenching her fist tightly.

"You should NOT have done that! I know you guys take the whole fetish scene way too seriously, but there's a fine line between femme fatale and tacky tramp. Buffy could feel the anger rising in her voice.

"You just vaulted right over that line."

The vampress smiled evilly at her, in full vamp face.

"Mock all you like Ssslayer. But I'll be the one laughing while your bleeding out on the ground." she smirked. The smile on her face made Buffy hate her even more.

"And that tattoo? Just screams biker slut."

The vampress attacked. In a fraction of a second, she cleared the space between them and pummeled her with kicks. Buffy twisted her foot, spinning the vampress in the air, and then Buffy kicked out before she hit the ground, and the vamp went flying across the mausoleum. Buffy ran at her before she had a chance to get up and kicked her in the gut. The vampress grabbed her foot, but wasn't quick enough. With her other foot, Buffy slammed the heel of her boot into the vampress' hand. The vampress screamed out in pain, but Buffy shut her up by kicking her in her ugly mouth. Anger surged through Buffy's body, there was no way she was showing that bitch any mercy during this fight. The vampress scrambled up and swept her foot out. Buffy jumped over her leg and kicked out. Her foot connected with the vamp's forehead, and she crumpled to the floor. Buffy picked her up and hit her again with a head butt.

The vampress scrambled up quickly and looked at Buffy with pure terror in her eyes. Then she turned around and ran. She pressed a switch on the side of an alter in the middle of the room, and a trap door opened up behind it. The vampress quickly ran down it, the door shutting behind her.

Buffy decided to let her go for now. She ran over to her fallen friend. Willow had her head in her lap, looking down at the floor.

"You okay Will?" Buffy asked. Willow looked up at her. Her face was red and swollen where the vampire slapped her.

"A little shaken up, but fine. You think Spike's rounded up what's left of the Order of Aurelius?" Willow asked, quickly changing the subject.

"I was sorta hoping there wasn't anything left of them. Come on, I want to get you out of here." Buffy helped her up, and together they walked towards the exit. Willow suddenly stopped and faced her.

"What about the others?" she asked.

"I'll come back for them, but I'm gonna need to be better armed if I have to deal with the Order and my spooky, slippery, little, new zombie-making friend." Willow nodded her head silently and they walked out. Hopefully Giles could help her find out what was really going on.

---

"I have no idea what's going on here." Giles said, frustrated.

"Knew I could count on you Giles." Buffy replied sarcastically.

"Unfortunately, Buffy, in spite of the faith you place in me, there's no magic in research. Though I am deeply troubled by Spike's sudden reappearance in Sunnydale, and even more alarmed by the implication that he might have gathered the remnants of the Master's order, all we can do is attempt to learn more." he rambled.

"So, you're thinking research then?" Buffy asked. Giles blanked out for a moment.

"Yes…Of course. Meanwhile, however, your first priority must be the rescue of those innocents abducted from the Bronze." Buffy stood up from the table.

"Already gone. Gotta say, though, I'm stumped. I thought you'd be brandishing a sharp-edged hypothesis by now." Giles shook his head.

"Sadly not, only a growing feeling of profound unease. All of this sudden activity does seem to suggest a carefully coordinated push towards a particular goal, probably something ritualistic. The gathering of victims in such sheer number, yet without killing them might lay the groundwork for a ceremony to draw forth an ancient evil into this world."

"And you said you had no hypothesis, ya big faker." Buffy teased.

"Whatever the plan may be, Buffy, you must return to the mausoleum and stop them before they can carry it out."

"Gotcha." Buffy said. She turned around and headed up to the book stacks. Willow was up there by herself, paging through a big book on occults. She didn't look to well. Her face was still puffy, and she looked like she was in bad pain.

"You sure you're going to be alright?" Buffy asked gently. Willow looked up from the book and smiled at her.

"I shall endure. Okay, not as inured to the physical abuse as Giles, but I'm getting there. It's all apart of being friends with the Slayer."

"Inured?" Buffy asked.

"I know, isn't it exciting? I never used that word in conversation before." Buffy smiled and shook her head.

"Very. Is there anything else you can remember that might help me?" she asked. Willow shrugged her shoulders.

"Just that secret passage inside the mausoleum, I thought it was sealed, but I guess Spike opened it back up."

"Thanks Will."

"No problem."

Willow slammed the book, and sighed.

"I wish Oz wasn't on tour with the Dingoes. I could use some wolfy huggin' right about now."

"You miss him, don't you?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah. Even though he left just this afternoon, it feels like weeks."

The door swung open, Xander and Cordelia walked in. Xander carried an armful of sodas. Cordelia was eating a granola bar.

"It's amazing what you can get with just a few kicks, isn't that right Buff?" he said as he placed the cans on the counter.

"Willow, you look like crap. What happened to your face?" Cordelia asked her. Xander looked at Cordelia sternly, then back at Willow, worry etched on his face.

"You alright, Will?" he asked.

"Bruised, but otherwise, unscathed. No unauthorized nibbling." she replied.

"If I ever get my hands on Spike, I'll make him wish he had never been born…reborn…unborn. You get the picture."

"Cue the manly swagger. Sweet, really. But let's not forget who the girlfriend is." Cordelia huffed. Xander raised a hand to protest, but Buffy cut in, ending another argument between the couple before it started.

"Sorry Xand, but this is strictly a solo Slayer mission. Too many unknowns, too much we don't understand."

"Like I ever let that stop me before!" he protested.

"I need you to stay here, help Giles, and make sure Willow doesn't have a concussion or something." she replied. Xander threw in the towel.

"Got it. Now go save those Bronzers. Especially the cute, female ones."

"Yeah, what are you still doing here?" Cordelia butted in, grabbing a sprite from the table. "You have to save our tight end! We need him for the game, and for my morale. On the other hand, that skank slut hitting on him, strictly optional."

Buffy sighed. She headed walked towards the swinging doors, but stopped short next to Giles, his faced buried deep in the books.

"Any luck figuring out what the markings where on those two uber-vamps I told you about?" she asked. Giles looked up from the book.

"Nothing yet. But I will continue to investigate. Meanwhile, you should hurry. There's no telling how long Spike and his associates will keep those people alive."

The double doors swung open, and Faith walked in. Her face and arms were covered in scratches, and she looked worn out.

_Great, another headache to add to my growing pile of pains._

"Hey, B. What's up? I busted my ass out there looking for you." she said.

"Looks like you busted more than that." she retorted. Faith shrugged her shoulders.

"Hey, a few nicks and scrapes isn't too much of an issue for me. I ran into trouble down at the Bronze. There was some crazy vamp out there who had a serious mad-on for me. He seemed all bent up about me bringing Kakistos down. What happened to you?"

"I'll tell you later. Right now I really have to go, got some lives to save." she replied.

"A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right?" Faith replied.

"Are you still here?" Cordelia yelled from across the room. "Don't you have something to kill? Cause if you had plans to do anything besides the monster mash, you might want to rethink the whole outfit."

"Like anyone needs any tips from you, Cordy." Faith retorted. Giles cut in before anyone said anything else.

"Faith, why don't you go with Buffy? I don't see anything wrong with the both of you going out, you might get the job done a lot faster if you combined your skills."

"Fine, I'm up for it. How about you, B?" Faith asked her.

"Fine." Buffy sighed. "Let's go then before Cordelia busts an artery or something, not like it wouldn't cause for a celebration if something like that did happen."

Buffy and Faith turned around and went out the door.


	6. SecondHand Slayer

Buffy and Faith walked up to the mausoleum. Luckily, there were no more walking dead wandering around the cemetery. Buffy filled Faith in all the details on the way.

"So this Spike guy, you whooped his ass earlier and chased him out of town, and he came back?" Faith asked her.

"Yep."

"He must be one of those machismo types."

"Definitely. I don't think there isn't any other type of vamp, come to think of it."

"So what made him come back?"

"We're about to find out."

Buffy pulled the door open and both of them stepped in. The door slammed shut behind him and they were left in the dark.

"Damn it's dark, just the way I like it." Faith said.

"You would."

They walked through the dark hallways, towards the center of the mausoleum. Eventually their eyes adjusted to the lack of light. They stepped up to the center, where the alter stood. Buffy saw the switch Spike and Scylla pulled to make their great escape. The walls of the mausoleum crashed open, zombies poured out from the wrecked wall.

_Dammit. Looks like my new little zombie-making friend isn't done here._

Faith launched a kick at the first one that came near her. The zombie fell to the ground, and started crawling towards her. Faith raised her foot and slammed it into the zombie's spine. Its spine gave way in a sickening snap, and it stopped moving.

_I've seen some nasty crap in my day, but that was gross. _

"Faith! There's too many of them! We have to run through the passage!"

Buffy was right, she looked around to see dozens of zombies making their way towards her. She saw Buffy kick through a crowd of zombies that surrounded her and ran to the alter. Buffy hit the switch and motioned Faith to follow. Faith ran towards the passageway quickly, dodging the corpses as they reached out for her. Buffy ran through the passage and Faith followed closely behind.

---

Cordelia was getting tired. She was at cheerleading practice all evening, and now this. She walked out of the book stacks and walked towards the table where Xander was buried in a dusty old book.

"Xander, I think I ran over a nail or something. Why don't we go change my tire? _Together_. I might need some _help _looking for the tire iron in the _back seat_." she said. She emphasized on a few of the words, hoping he would get the point. Xander looked up at her.

"Sorry, Cordy. No time for nookie right now, Buffy needs our help."

"Well, I'm sick of helping her. All we're doing is sitting here and looking at books. I've been here all night and I'm still in my cheerleading outfit. I don't know about you guys, but I'm going home." with that she stormed out.

Xander stood up to follow her.

"Let her go." Giles replied, not looking up from his book. "Cordelia has done enough for us tonight, she could use the rest."

"But…" Xander protested

"Please, Xander."

Xander reluctantly sat back down, bored out of his mind and frustrated that they weren't getting anywhere.

_I hope Buffy or Faith at least come up with something while they're out there. _

_---_

Buffy held the torch as the both of them made their way through the dark tunnels underneath the mausoleum. They encountered a few zombies along the way, but they were able to make short work of them. The only thing that really got under Buffy's skin were the spiders. They encountered a few spiders along the way the size of cocker spaniels. Buffy couldn't stand spiders when they were small, and it didn't help that they spat venom. The venom burned through her shirt. Buffy scraped it off with the end of the torch as Faith came up and stomped its guts out.

Buffy jogged up to the shrine and tipped the torch into the bowl. The bowl ignited into a burst of flame, and she heard a loud creak as the heavy metal door in the far chamber opened up.

"Great, let's get out of here. This whole place is giving me the wiggins."

"Tell me about it." Faith replied.

They ran through the tunnels, into a small chamber with a heavy, metal door that slid open. Three small torches that burned green fire were lined up along the doorway. Each torch corresponded with the three shrines she and Faith found scattered about the underground chambers. She ignited each one, and each small torch in the chamber ignited into green flame.

_Cool trick, that. _

Buffy and Faith walked through the door with the lit green flames above. They jogged down the long hallway. The hallway dead ended at a cracked wall. Both Slayers stepped back and simultaneously kicked the wall down. The wall crumbled, exposing a vast area which looked like it was once used as a sanctuary.

"The ground doesn't look steady, I say we run across." Faith said. Buffy nodded her head and they both raced across the chamber, the ground crumbling beneath their feet. Once they hit stable ground, they stopped.

"Good call." Buffy commented.

"Thanks."

The ground then erupted around them, and the living dead poured out. The two Slayers engaged in combat. Faith knocked down a couple of them with a roundhouse. Buffy lashed out at a crowd, crippling four of them, and then smashed their skulls in with her foot.

More zombies poured out and came for the both of them. The two soon found themselves cornered against the wall, back to back.

"What do you say; I take the bunch on the left, you on the right?" Faith asked as they had their backs to each other.

"No, there's too many of them. We gotta form another plan before they have a couple more members joining their club of the undead."

Faith saw two demons making their way towards the crowd. They looked like two big, metallic, skeletons, their skulls protected by helmets.

_Or what looks like a helmet anyways._

The most visible feature about them were the glowing balls of green energy in their abdominal regions. It seemed to be the source of their power.

The demons slashed at the crowd of zombies, damn near breaking their necks to reach her and Buffy. Zombie pieces went flying everywhere as they slashed through the crowd.

"Do you think we can take them?" Buffy asked.

"Only one way to find out."

Faith and Buffy lashed out at the demons as they broke through the crowd of undead. Faith unleashed a combo at one of the demons. The demon screamed in rage and slashed her in the face, knocking her to the dirt. In the corner of her eye, she saw Buffy fall back from the vicious attack of the other monster.

Faith leaped to her feet in time for another attack. The demon threw a series of blows at her. Faith grabbed its wrists and kicked it in its stomach, and the demon jumped back. She saw the green energy in its stomach flicker, confirming her theory. Faith came back in and smashed the demon with some hard kicks, followed by an uppercut. The demon spiraled in the air, and suddenly disinigrated in midair.

Faith spun around to see Buffy catching her breath, the other demon nowhere in sight.

"What were those things?" Buffy asked her.

"I dunno. But who gives a damn, right? As long as we know how to kill em."

The both of them made their way through the rest of the chamber, and came along an alter, much similar to the ones they had to ignite to open the gate. The ground was swallowed up in front of it. Faith glanced down and noticed another cavern below.

"Ladies first." Buffy said as she leaped down into the cavern. Faith jumped down after her and followed close behind.

---

Spike sat on a ledge inside the huge chamber as Matereani prepared for the ritual. Laibach, still in Drusilla's body, ordered around the preparations as Scylla and Malik followed. They were all preparing for the rise of the Master, Spike's great great grandsire. A few of the sacrificial victims pleaded for their lives. Scylla and Malik smacked them around till they shut up. Spike wasn't up for the whole ritualistic ceremony and all that dross, it was too boring. He would have helped shut up a few of the sacrifices, but he would just rather kill them.

Spike just hoped the ritual was over soon, so he could get Drusilla back. So far he wasn't loving this plan at all. He didn't give a damn about the Master's return. He just wanted Dru back so the both of them could go back to England or South America.

Spike lit another cigarette and watched. Deep inside, he hoped Buffy would come and stop this, because so far, he wasn't having a good time.

---

Buffy met Faith in the small chamber, in front of another doorway with green flames. After jumping through the hole and searching through the various chambers, not to mention kicking some more undead ass, Faith and Buffy came across another doorway with small torches. But unlike the last one, this one had two. The both of them spilt up and searched the different hallways and chambers to find more shrines. During her search, Buffy came across another orb demon, a few icky spiders, and a handful of the undead. She finally found a shrine and lit it, now she was walking down the hallway past the green-flame door with Faith, who had apparently found one herself.

"How did it go?" Buffy asked her as they walked.

"Five by five."

"Same here, I guess. I ran into a buttload of zombies though, and a couple of those orb thingies."

Faith suddenly ran off, leaving her behind.

"Hey!" Buffy said as she ran to catch up. Faith was standing in the middle of a large, stone chamber, looking down at a fallen corpse.

"I just saw this guy get killed. He was standing her, and this demon, one of the ones with the green orbs, just came out of nowhere and dropped this guy. I ran over and it disappeared" Faith said.

"Let's find him, then." Buffy said as she walked down the length of the chamber, searching for the demon.

A group of zombies crashed through the cubicles in the walls, and stumbled towards her. Buffy made short work of them, and turned to see Faith finishing off another one. A flash of light busted between them, and an orb demon appeared in front of her. Faith ran up to help her. Both of them managed to get only a few bruises as they finished him off, the demon spun through the air and disinigrated.

"What do you say what other nasty little secrets this place has in store for us?" Faith offered. Buffy nodded, and the both of them walked through the set of double doors.

---

Xander puffed loudly and slammed the book closed.

"Nada. Zip. Zilch. The big goose egg."

Xander had been looking through books for hours and was getting nowhere fast. He rose from his chair and walked up to Willow, who was searching through the computer.

"Hey, Will. How's it going with the search." he asked her.

"Not good. I checked almost every site I could find, none of them don't know anything about tattooed vamps. Well, not significant tattoos anyway. This one site showed me a picture of some guy covered head to toe in one big tattoo, and, gross, but I don't think he's a vampire."

Xander pulled up a chair, and sat next to her.

"Willow, do you think Cordelia knows? About us?" he asked her quietly.

"What? That we've known each other since, like, forever?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"I don't know. She has noticed us getting kinda close, twice in one night even. Maybe she knows and doesn't really want to admit it, like she's trying to deny it. Or maybe she doesn't really realize it, but maybe she is starting to feel it growing gradually, like she might catch on to us one day. The same thing with Oz. I notice he tends to be a little quieter than usual whenever he sees the two of us together. It's a scary thought, but do you think his enhanced wolf senses could notice anything?"

Xander stared at her thoughtfully.

"Anyone ever tell you how cute you are when youramble like that?" he asked her. Willow blushed.

"Not recent…" Willow trailed off as the both of them leaned in for a kiss.

The door busted open and Cordelia walked in. Willow and Xander quickly backed away and faced Cordelia. She was wearing a thin, red sweater covering up a white tanktop, and a pink flowery pink skirt to match the sweater.

"I changed my mind. I figured I wouldn't be doing anything at home but sitting in my room, doing homework, or catching up on my soaps."

"Cordy, it's three in the morning." Xander said.

"So? Why is it your business what I do in the middle of the night? Oh wait, that's because I spend most of my time here in this musty old library with you guys! I didn't have to come back, you know. I could have stayed home, while Spike and his cronies killed all of you, but I didn't want to live with the guilt. Now, if you excuse me, I have some homework to finish."

She slammed her books on the desk and sat down. She took out her homework and started writing; humming a song in her head to block off anything else Xander had to say. Xander just sighed and shook his head.

_How do I put up with her?_

_---_

Spike took in a lungful of smoke and breathed it out deeply. He watched as Malik and Scylla put the finishing touches on the ritual. They both backed off as Matereani stepped up and began the chant.

_About bloody time._

"Oriundus quos cineras, oriundus qua umbra, consurgo magister aquila, cruentas ex tui cruentas, devoco vobis."

Energy expelled from the necromancer and struck the sacrifices. The bodies fell against each other in a smoking heap.

_That was pretty neat, if I have to say so myself. _

Suddenly, Buffy flew in from behind Matereani and kicked him in the back. Matereani fell off the ledge and landed face first on the ground next to the smoky carcasses.

"So much for stealth." the Slayer smirked.

Another girl soon followed behind her. She had long, black hair, and the darkest eyes Spike had ever seen. All in all, she was beautiful.

"Damn. Looked like one hell of a party. I'm offended nobody bothered to send me an invite." the girl said, looking down at the bodies. The room trembled violently. Rocks and rubble fell from the high ceiling.

"Right, falling ceiling. Time to dash." He signaled for the others to follow. Malik, Laibach, and Scylla followed right behind him as he ran out the falling chamber. Matereani stayed behind to face the Slayer and her doe-eyed friend.

_Oh well._

"You are becoming a nuisance, girl." the demon raged.

"Oh, look! The grave robber speaks!" Buffy taunted.

The demon shook in rage. Crackles of energy emitted from his body and struck the ground. The ground erupted and a load of zombies poured out.

"Buffy, you want me to hold these things down while you take on the demon guy?" Faith asked.

"Sounds like a plan."

Buffy flew in the air and launched a high kick. Just like that, the demon vanished. Buffy landed on her feet and looked around. She was suddenly struck violently on the back of her head, numerous blows knocking her forward. She fell hard on her chest.

"Okay, it's safe to say I wasn't expecting that."

Faith pummeled the zombie to the ground, and then back kicked another one in the torso. She spun around quickly and smashed its skull in as it crawled on the ground. She saw the other fight going on at the corner of her eye, if you wanted to call it that. Buffy was managing to get only a few hits in, but most of the time the demon kept teleporting out of the way, and coming back to unleash a lethal combo on her.

Faith didn't have time to watch Buffy's battle as more of the walking dead were making their way towards her.

"Okay, this is getting really annoying." Buffy said as the demon disappeared again, but this time, Buffy was quick enough. She ducked out of the way as the demon rematerialized behind her and tried to pummel her. She snapped back with an uppercut, but the demon was faster. He grabbed her fist and twisted her arm. Buffy felt bones snap. She screamed in pain as the demon kept twisting. He finally let go, then he snapped a ferocious kick that sent her sailing across the room. She crashed against the hard, stone wall. She got up slowly to face the demon. He was walking towards her slowly.

_Why do villains always have to walk that slowly? He must have seen way too many movies._

"Hey asshole, over here." Buffy looked to see Faith breathlessly calling out to the demon. Zombie pieces were scattered around her feet.

"You want a piece of me now? Come and get me you ugly son-of-a-bitch."

Buffy knew what she was trying to do.

_Thanks Faith._

She reached down and grabbed a long, slender, metal candlestick that was stuck in the dirt she guessed they had to use for the ritual. She held in her hand like a javelin. The demon turned around to face Faith, falling for her taunts. Buffy took careful aim, and threw the stick like a spear. The stick sailed through the air and plunged through the demon's side. Blood and viscera spewed through his side. The demon doubled over and fell down. He sat up weakly and extended his arm out towards the center of the room. Dim energy expelled from his claws, around the corpses.

"No…the rite must be…completed." he said weakly.

His energy flickered, and he fell back to the dirt. He stopped moving.

"And nobody around to bring YOU back from the grave. What a drag, huh?" Buffy smirked.

Faith walked up besides her.

"Damn, way to go B."

"Thank's F. Too bad we couldn't save them though." Buffy said, nodding her head towards the pile of bodies.

The demon's corpse disinigrated, leaving behind a glowing piece of metal. Buffy picked it up and examined it. She could feel its power coursing through her body.

"Meanwhile, this little souvenir ought to help Giles figure out what all the boogedy-boogedy is about."

The ground shook violently. Buffy and Faith fell to their knees. A white mist swirled around the bodies in the center of the room, forming a figure.

_Oh, no…it can't be…_

The form of the Master rose from the mist.

"Oh…no. You're _dead_. I killed you. I crushed your bones."

Buffy felt a tug on her arm.

"Buffy, let's get out of here, or the ceiling is gonna crush us!"

Buffy turned around and ran out. They ran through the tunnels, jumping and dodging as rocks crashed down in front of them. They made it out into the air. They continued running, adrenaline and fear coursed through her veins. The image of the Master back in the chamber replayed in her mind. They ran and ran. Finally, Faith stopped.

"That was fun! Don't even try to tell me that wasn't fun!" Faith said

"That wasn't."

"You gotta lighten up, B. You can't tell me you didn't enjoy all that action back there."

"I can, and I did. Faith, I'm not in the mood right now. I have a lot going on. Thanks for you help. See you later."

Faith looked hurt.

"Fine. Whatever."

She turned around and ran home.

---

Buffy walked tiredly upstairs. She walked towards her room when the light in her mom's bedroom suddenly cut on. Joyce came out of her room.

"Buffy? Did you just get in? What happened out there? I was worried sick about you."

"Nothing. Nothing you should worry about. Just a long, stressful night. I'm just tired. Goodnight mom."

Joyce looked like she wanted to say more, but she listened.

"Goodnight sweetie."

Buffy walked to her room. She could feel her mother's worried glance behind her. She shut the door and changed into her pajamas. She jumped in bed and picked up the phone, and dialed the library.

"Xander's Snack Shack." Xander answered on the other line.

"Hey, Xand."

"Hey, Buff. How did everything go? Did you save those Bronzers?"

"No, I couldn't. But everything went okay. We killed the necromancer demon. Faith is at home right now. I'm at home too. Listen, Xander, why don't you all go home and call it a night. We'll meet up at the library around 3:30, after school. I'm not gonna bother showing up at school tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll let them know. You take care of yourself."

"You too."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Buffy hung up the phone, and laid down, staring up at the ceiling. Tomorrow as going to be a long night, she could feel it.


	7. Angel

"I killed him Giles!" Buffy cried the next day at the library. "I killed him and then crushed his bones so that he couldn't ever come back! This is so not happening."

Even though she stayed home from school and slept all day, she still wasn't feeling any better. The possible resurrection of The Master weighted heavily on her brain.

"I fear that it is." Giles said, sitting down in front of her, cleaning his glasses. "You see, your crushing the Master's skeleton preluded any further attempt to reanimate him as a being of flesh and bone. But it is possible that a skilled necromancer could resurrect him in a disembodied state, as a kind of phantom. On the bright side, however, the Master would be in a relatively weakened state in this spectral form and the collapse of the church may have well terminated his resurrection at a critical point."

Buffy stared at him blankly.

"You're completely guessing, aren't you?"

"Call it an hypothesis. Frankly, what truly baffles me is Spike's involvement in all this. All of this - the regrouping of the Order, the summoning of Matereani, the possible resurrection of the Master - logic dictates that this isn't Spike's plan. But if not Spike's, then whose? And to what dark purpose?"

Buffy thought for a moment.

"Wait, wait. The Master was in a dream I had the other night. That's not a huge surprise; he's made dream cameos that didn't mean anything. But maybe there's more to it. Besides the Master, there were these three nasty demons, like the patron saints of S&M and self-mutilation or something. They had these weird symbols on their noggins that looked something like this."

Buffy showed him a sketch of the symbol she drew from her dream.

"It appears to be a sigil of some kind. I'll add this to the research I'm doing on the tattoos worn by those two distinctive vampires you fought."

"Hey, Giles, maybe I should work with this talisman?" Willow perked up, indicating the talisman Buffy had in her hand, the one she took from Matereani last night.

"If I can muster the spell that controls it, I might be able to reverse it."

Giles shook his head.

"That isn't quite how the Tedarke talisman works, Willow. The necromantic power was in the necromancer. The talisman is charged with magical energy that allows the wearer to focus on his or her mystical abilities. It is a potent tool for witchcraft, but I'm afraid that it can also prove quite dangerous. Unless properly controlled, the talisman's power can corrupt the wearer. I'm not entirely convinced that you're ready to handle so powerful a tool. However, in light of recent events it may be prudent for you to begin training with it immediately."

Willow grinned eagerly.

"With my supervision of course." Giles added.

"Of course! Gotta keep me from going to the dark side. Or just, Y'know, turning everyone into pigs and making the school disappear."

"You will need to take every possible precaution if you are to attempt to master the power of the talisman."

"Gotcha. Precaution, now my middle name."

Buffy walked up to Willow and handed her the glowing talisman.

"You heard Giles, be careful with that thing. Practice safe magic."

"Not a single worry. I'm all about the caution."

"Oz is gonna want his girl in one piece when he gets back." Buffy said. Willow's cheeks reddened.

"And now I've got all kinds of exciting images in my head…And, I'm blushing."

Buffy thought about the situation for a moment.

_Angel would know what to do._

She turned back around to face the rest of the Scoobs. Giles was still sitting in his chair, and Xander and Cordelia were sitting at the desk, listening intently.

"Okay. You guys keep up with the research. I'm gonna go see Angel. If anyone can figure out why Spike's back in Sunnydale, it'll be him."

"Sure, that oughta be constructive." Cordelia said. "Time well spent, provided you don't Y'know, succumb to temptation and turn him evil, again."

"Now, Cordelia, we're all a bit wary of Angel, and with reason. But you well know it's far more complicated than that." Giles said. Buffy was glad he was on her side.

_Thanks Giles._

"I just know I could never spend that much time with him…or anyone else who might suddenly decide to kill me in my sleep." Cordelia said.

"And yet you're here with us. Imagine that. Look, while everyone bones up on sigils and resurrections, I'll head over to the mansion and bone up on Angel." Everyone stared at her, disgusted. "That so didn't come out right."

Cordelia rolled her eyes.

_I swear one day, that girl's eyes are going to roll to the back of her head._

"That's right. Trot off to the lair of your broody Jekyll & Hyde demon lover in the middle of a crisis. Talk about priorities."

"The last time demons attacked the library, you and Xander were canoodling on Giles' desk while the rest of us tried to avoid decapitation." Buffy said.

"Good lord! Could we please stay out of the librarian's office?" Giles piped in. "And what happened to my antique letter opener? I'd always assumed that one of the Fraxis demons took it, but, perhaps I don't want to know."

"Just try to make yourself useful, Cordelia." Buffy said.

"Are you sure we need to involve tall, dark and brooding?" Xander asked.

"If anyone can predict what Spike will do, it's Angel." Buffy answered

"Is he the good Angel or the bad Angel this week? Sometimes I forget." he said sarcastically.

"Not helpful, Xand. Hitting the books? That's helpful."

"Actually, I've developed this bizarre narcolepsy. I read about dusty old magic, fall right to sleep."

"Okay, Angel's got the dark broody thing going on," Cordelia said. "But he's so pale and depressing. It wouldn't kill him to smile sometimes, maybe get some sun." she looked up to see the gang staring at her in disbelief. "Okay, that would kill him, but still…"

Xander jumped up from his seat, attempted to kill the uncomfortable silence.

"So, if nobody needs me for a snack run, I was thinking I'd head on over to the Alibi Room to see what kind of info I can intimidate, or possibly beat out of our favorite snitch, Willy."

"Or possibly buy. Cause intimidation is not your strong suit." Cordelia said.

"Hmm, and if I must resort to the buying, that would require cash." Xander thought out loud.

"Take Cordelia with you then." Buffy suggested. "But try not to take the scenic route."

"Buffy, it's a crisis. What do you take me for?"

"Go. Do not stop for nookie."

"Going." Xander said. Cordelia rose up, and the both of them walked out the library.

Buffy turned to face Giles.

"I'm headed over to the mansion now. Find all you can about the sigils. I'm counting on you, Giles."

"Yes, Buffy, of course. I believe there's a tome by Kraus that could give me some insight into the sigils. Though it may take me some time to find it."

Buffy shrugged her shoulders.

"Could be someone checked it out."

"Of here?"

---

Angel meditated silently in his dojo. He let his mind flow freely as he slowly and quietly, moved about the room, broadsword in his hand. He found himself doing that often, especially since after he came back from the Hell dimension and recovered from the trauma of years of torment. He would come into the dojo, tie a blindfold over his eyes, and practice with his sword. It helped take his mind off of things. Things were going to start getting hectic now that Buffy's friends found out about his return.

He eased his mind and thought about the beautiful things in life: his favorite Barry Manilow songs, his favorite poems, Buffy…

Angel snapped his arm back quickly and connected with the demon that snuck up behind him. The demon screeched and fell back. He performed a full 180 with the sword. He felt little resistance as the he cut through the demon's midsection, slicing him in half.

Angel took off the blindfold. Over a dozen Hanoch demons stood in the dojo, some of them clinging to the high walls. He turned around and noticed at least a dozen more dotting the walls all around him.

_There's too many of them, there's no way I can kill them all._

The Hanoch demons looked down to see what Angel did to their fellow comrade, and attacked. The first of them took the end of the sword to its throat. Angel quickly withdrew and swung the sword around, fending off the other advancing demons as it dropped to the ground in gurgling, gasping, breaths.

Angel managed to hack through three of the advancing demons. He swung the broadsword in a long arc, decapitating a few more of them. He continued to maneuver the sword, slicing through their spiny bodies, but there were still too many of them. It seemed like two would replace everyone he killed. He was starting to grow tired.

A demon from behind him leaped high in the air and kicked out at his hand, knocking the sword from his grip. Another demon in front of him took advantage of the opportunity and lashed out at him. Angel yelled out in pain as its long claws rammed into his abdomen. White, hot pain jolted from his pierced gut and traveled along his body.

He lashed out in anger, swiping through the crowd of Hanoch blocking the way out. He couldn't fight them all off, not without a better weapon. He fought his way through the dojo, eager to reach the weapons closet in his bedroom.

---

Buffy opened up the double doors to the old estate where Angel currently resided. The large room was deserted. Buffy walked in, looking around for signs of Angel. The whole room was silent, except the crackling sound from the fire in the fireplace and her own shallow breathing.

"Angel? Anybody home?" no one answered. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Angel suddenly appeared, walking slowly into the large living room. He was holding his stomach, blood spilling from the wound onto the marble floor.

"Buffy! Go! You have to get out of here." he said in a strained voice.

"Angel, what is it? What's wrong?" she asked him worriedly.

"Get out while you can. If they take me, you'll be the only one who could save me."

"Angel, what are you talking about? Who's they?"

A spiny figure launched from the corner of the room and struck Angel in the side of the head. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. He fell limply to the floor. The double doors leading out to the courtyard opened up. Spike and the long-haired vampire Buffy fought back in the library walked in.

"Hey, Slayer. Nice to be seeing you again. If you don't mind, me and my friend here will take him off your hands for you. One less load for you to carry."

The other vampire hoisted Angel up over his shoulder, and headed out they way they came.

"Oh, and don't try to follow us."

Spike closed the door behind him. Buffy ran after but was stopped as the demon jumped in her path. He let out an ear piercing scream. Green smoke spilled out of his maws, engulfing the double doors Spike and the other vamp went out of. The green smoke formed a gelatin-like barrier around the door. Buffy didn't know how powerful it was, but she was sure the demon really wasn't planning on letting her out.

"Time to thrash first, ask questions later."

The demon leaped up and clinged onto the walls. It skittered across the walls on all fours.

Then it quickly leaped off, towards her. Buffy dodged out of the way, barely avoiding it as it landed on the floor where she one stood. The demon came at her, slashing at her with its sharp claws. Buffy swiftly dodged each of it swings, then came in with a powerful blow with both palms onto its chest, causing it to flail back, and into the fireplace. The demon screamed in pain as its frail body burned in the fire. Green smoke emitted from the burning corpse, and the demon stopped screaming.

Buffy turned to see the barrier dissipating from the glass double doors. She jogged up to them and opened them up into the courtyard, keeping her eyes peeled for Spike.

---

Willow held the Tedarke talisman in the palm of her hand, studying its power. She felt the talisman's power and understood Giles' concern. She could almost feel the talisman trying to take her over, to swallow her up in its darkness.

Giles walked in from the library, holding a big bag of supplies from the local magic shop.

"I found all of the stuff we are going to need for the spell, Willow. Study the instructions carefully. What we are about to attempt may be very dangerous."

"Yeah, got that part already. I studied the talisman a little more while you were gone, I see what you mean. I think I can handle it though. When I get done with it, I will be able to control it enough to help Buffy. Of course, with you looking over my shoulder."

"Yes, of course. I'll look up more information on the sigils from Buffy's dream."

"Good. Let's get crackin."

Willow pulled out the spell book and studied the ingredients.

_This is going to be harder than I thought. _

_---_

Buffy grabbed the green rectangle she found on sitting by the wall in the hallway.

"This has gotta be a key. Now, if I can just find the lock it fits into."

She ran through the doors straight ahead and made a left, into a stone chamber. On the far wall were three protrusions, each colored differently.

"All right! Ye old 'n' wacky security system."

Buffy stuck the rectangle into the green hole. A click sounded somewhere in the mansion.

"Damn. Why do the bizzarro antique security systems all require more than one key?"

She walked out of the room, and headed back to the courtyard. Once she got to the double doors leading out to the yard, another barrier of green Jell-O formed around the door, blocking the way out.

Buffy immediately kicked out as the demon leaped into the air over the railing by the stone steps where she now stood. Her foot connected with its chest. It fell back down and landed hard onto a wooden table, splintering it in the process. Buffy leaped off the staircase, landing by the fallen demon on the broken table. Buffy locked the demon's scrawny head in her arms and twisted. Its neck snapped with a sickening pop.

Buffy waited for the barrier to dissipate, wondering why it wasn't after she already killed the demon, when something struck her in the back. Buffy fell forward. Another demon struck her again in the back of her head and she fell face first. The demon jumped on top of her, claws planted firmly in her back. Hot spittle dribbled on top of her head as the demon brought its face forward to snap her neck in its jaws.

Buffy snapped her head back, smashing it against the demon's face. She put both palms on the floor and jumped up, knocking the demon on its back. Buffy grabbed her stake and slammed it down on the back of its neck. The demon gurgled and spasmed in pain, then it stopped. Green mist spilled from its dead form, and the barrier lowered.

Buffy walked out into the courtyard. She walked past the pool of water, and made a right towards the single door leading to Angel's bedroom. Another demon jumped out, catching her off guard. It slapped her hard across the face. She fell back and landed into a pile of gardening equipment. She picked herself up, and reached down and grabbed a rake.

"When in doubt, try a garden implement."

She charged forward and swung the rake in an arc, towards the demon. The demon was flung through the air from the impact, and slammed hard against the wall. She heard its skull crack from the impact before it hit the ground. Buffy came up and rammed the handle of the rake into its spine. The demon released one last screech, and died.

---

Angel woke up suddenly. The last thing he remembered seeing was Buffy. She had just come in through the front. She wore a purple and black tank top with grey sweatpants. She was staring at him worriedly, wondering what was going on. He had just finished fending off a huge group of Hanoch demons, only to be stabbed in the gut by one of them with its long, sharp claws.

Angel sat up, but was brought back down quickly by the blinding pain in his abdomen, the wound still fresh.

"Don't bother getting back up, mate." someone said. He recognized the voice.

"Spike."

"Glad to know you still remember me, Angel. Makes a person feel all soft inside. Good thing I'm not really a person, yeah?"

"You're right. You're a monster." Angel retorted.

"Thanks. Wow Angel, even after kidnapping you after allowing my demons to beat the bloody hell out of you, you still decided to exchange a few kind words."

"What are you doing here, Spike?" he asked.

"The question is, Nancy Boy, what are you dong here? Word on the streets is you managed to piss off your ex-girlfriend enough for her to banish you to hell. How is it down there, by the way? Did you manage to spread out my good name while they were torturing you?"

"You've made a bad mistake coming here, Spike."

"That's where your wrong, Angelus." another voice said.

Angel snapped his head up at the familiarity of the voice. A spectral form of his grandsire, The Master, hovered up to him, next to Spike.

"It is YOU who made a bad mistake. Ah, but of course, its all how you look at it." The Master said.

The Master floated up to him and transformed into a cloud of smoke. The smoke trailed to his face, and entered into his nostrils. Angel could feel the Master's essence within him as he invaded his body. He fought back, keeping the Master from taking over his mind. The Master was too strong, even in spectral form. Angel felt himself getting weaker. He began to lose control of his actions. His body gave in and the Master took over. He could still hear, see and smell all that was happening around him, but he couldn't do anything. He watched as the Master stood up to face Spike.

"That was bloody impressive." Spike said.

"I am in control now, Spike. For now on, everything that I say, goes. Do you understand me?" The Master in his body said.

Spike looked like he wanted to protest, but gave up, knowing the effort would be fruitless, even fatal.

"Sure, you're the master. No pun intended, by the way. What now?"

"We will hunt the Slayer. She is the reason why I am in this situation. She killed me awhile ago, and I will not stand for that. It is time to return the favor."

Spike let out a pained smile.

"Your call. I'll get my boys."

---

"Angel?" Buffy called out as she entered the dojo. Inside was a mess, limbs and torsos of the spiny green-spitting demons were scattered all about. She saw a long sword sitting on the floor on the opposite end. Next to it, stood the vampire slut she whooped on earlier. Buffy noticed with hidden amusement that she was still bruised up. She turned around to face Buffy. She walked slowly up to the center of the room. Buffy stifled a laugh as she noticed the vampire's limp.

"Looking for you lover, Sssslayer?" the vamp asked her. "The vampire with a sssoul. An abomination. Sssorry he won't be yoursss for much longer."

The vampire suddenly changed form. Her mouth opened inhumanly wide, growing into a huge maw. Her fingers curled up into long claws. The bottom half of her body melted together then stretched out at least seven feet wider. She looked like a snake with arms.

"Now that is just gross."

---

Xander and Cordelia walked into the Alibi Room. The bar was a place where most vampires and demons came to drink and share stories. Willy, the owner of the bar, would occasionally overhear them talking, and get a lot of info on nasty stuff going down on the Hellmouth. He gave out all the information the Scoobs needed, in exchange for an ass-kicking from Buffy, thus branding him the nickname Willy the Snitch. Xander went with her on occasions. He loved watching the little weasel buckle under pressure from Buffy's threats. He studied Buffy when she threatened him, to see how he himself would be able to do it in case an opportunity like this one would come up. Time to show his stuff.

Willy looked up nervously as he saw him walk up with Cordelia, but he calmed down a bit after noticing Buffy wasn't with them.

"If it isn't our favorite snitch Willy. How you doin?"

"You know, business as usual." Willy answered. "How about you?"

"We need some information, and you are going to give it to us." Xander said in his best tough-guy voice. "What do you know about the Order of Aurelius and their little plans?"

Willy looked at him as straight as possible.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Let me help you refresh your memory."

Xander reached over and punched Willy in the side of the face. He brought it back quickly and cradled his tender hand in his arms.

"Okay, ow. That was dumb."

"Tell me about it." Cordelia said rolling her eyes. "Let me handle it."

She put on her award-winning May Queen smile and turned to Willy, who was holding his cheek in pain.

"Hi there! My name is Cordelia Chase. We're friends of Buffy's, you may know her. Anyways, we're having a little problem back at the school and we were wondering if you could give us some help. We would be so grateful."

"I'm not telling you nothing. He hit me! I don't appreciate that!" Will said angrily.

"Yeah…and I'm sure he is really sorry, but we really need your help."

"No way! Not without paying me first!"

"Okay then…how does twenty dollars sound?"

"Fifty."

"Forty, bucko. Take it our leave it."

"Alright. Sounds good." he replied.

"Great! Xander give him the money."

"What! Why do I have to pay? You're the one with the wealthy parents."

"You're the one who decided to go all Arnold Schwarzenegger and hit the man, after I told you fighting wasn't your strong suit. Now cough it up so we can get out of this smelly place."

"Fine. Whatever." Xander reached into his wallet and took out the money. Willy snatched it greedily and stuffed it in his shirt pocket. He leaned against the table and faced them.

"A couple of Aurelius vamps were here awhile ago. I overheard them talking about some package they were supposed to be picking up at the docks. The box is supposed to contain some kinda evil voodoo in it or something like that. They never said what kind, they were kinda hush-hush about it, y' know?"

Cordelia put back on her award-winning smile.

"Thanks Willy. You're a big help. You will be safe to know you probably saved some innocent lives tonight."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for. You can come to me anytime. Tell Buffy I said hi."

"We will. Take care."

Xander shook his head, amused by Cordelia's act. He turned around and followed her out.

"Hey kid." Willy called. Xander turned around.

"You have a pretty good left hook. Keep it up and you might be able to beat information out of me one day."

"You really think so?"

"Sure. Of course."

"Thanks!" Cordelia walked up to him and yanked him back, pulling him to the car.

---

Buffy spun in the air and landed on her back. The vampire-snake chick was quick. Buffy was going to have a hard time killing her. Buffy looked up to see the sword lying on the ground directly in front of her. She quickly snatched it up, and got back on her feet.

Buffy brought the sword back and ran at the snake, lashing it out at her when she reached her. The sword slashed through the snake's chest. The snake screeched in pain and lashed out her with her claws. Buffy jumped back against a wall, dodging the snake's attack. She turned her head to see a long string on the wall that belonged to the curtain on the window above. She had an idea. She just hoped the snake was stupid enough to fall for her plan.

Buffy swiped at the string with the sword. The string cut in two, and the curtain to the high window drew open. Then she rolled out of the way in time to avoid another one of the snake's attacks. She dropped the sword and sprinted to the opposite side of the room, right in front of the section of the room where the now-open window lit. She turned around to face the snake. The snake squealed in rage and charged at her. Her plan was working. As soon as it got close enough, she rolled out the way. The demon charged past her, into the sunny area of the room. The snake roared in agony as it burst into flame. It rolled on the floor, attempting to put the flames out. The snake finally busted into a cloud of dust.

_Still a vampire_

The doors opened up, and Angel limped into the room, still holding his stomach. Buffy ran up to him and embraced him.

"Angel! God, are you okay? Did Spike do anything to you?" she looked up at him. He didn't look like himself; he looked a lot paler, if that was possible. "Angel? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Angel grabbed her roughly on her shoulders, and glared at her menacingly. But they weren't his eyes. There was something else familiar about them. When he spoke, it wasn't his voice.

"No. But I will be, Slayer. I will be."

_The Master. Oh no…The Master has Angel's body!_

"Let go of me!" she screamed out in panic. The Master hardened his grip.

"You wound me, Slayer. Surely one last kiss isn't too much to ask?"

"What part of 'let go' don't you understand?" Buffy said as she escaped from his grip.

Panic and sadness wavered in her voice.

"Obnoxious brat. You will feel my power! I killed you once before, I'll do it again!"

"Looks like we're both hard to get rid of. Difference is, you're just an echo." Buffy said confidently, even though she tried to hide the panic in her voice.

The doors opened up again, Spike, Drusilla, and the long-haired vampire walked in. There was something about Drusilla that looked different, though Buffy couldn't point it out.

"Hold it right there, Slayer. I can't afford to have you bollocksing this up." Spike said.

"Sorry, no can do. Gotta fly."

Buffy ran up to an open window and leaped out into the courtyard. She heard the Master call out as she ran out the yard, into the streets of Sunnydale.


	8. Deadly Cargo

The gang stood around silently after Buffy explained the situation at Angel's place. Xander was pacing around the room while the rest of the gang sat at the table in front of her.

_He never was comfortable with Angel before. He already lost all respect for him after he turned evil and murdered Jenny. And now this. Who cold blame him?_

Willow sat on the table, playing with her fingers, definitely a lot going on in her mind. Cordelia sat there, bored as ever, making it obvious by randomly huffing when she realized no one was paying attention to how bored she was. Giles was cleaning his glasses, and staring off into the distance as he thought quietly to himself.

Buffy decided to break the uncomfortable silence with a little light humor on the situation.

"Not that I'm a complainer, but you notice Cosmo has never run an article about the complications of falling in love with a vampire? The evil always gets in the way."

"Hello, but…duh!" Cordelia replied.

"Thank you for that eloquent and comfortable sentiment." Buffy said sarcastically.

"Unfortunately Buffy, yours is not the only bad news." Giles started, putting his glasses back on. "While you were gone, my research turned up the origins of the sigil from your rather prophetic nightmare. It is the mark of three demons, known collectively as the Korta'Kass- the Dreamers. Individually, these beings possess impressive physic abilities. However, by joining forces, they can purportedly distort or mold reality within a certain proximity through mental projection. I suspect that the Master is attempting to locate and reunite the Dreamers so that he can exploit their powers for some greater evil purpose."

Buffy thought for a moment.

"I get it. If they're all together, then they can use their mental powers. But for the mental powers? I'm assuming that means they all have to have heads. I'm seeing a solution here."

"Do not take this lightly." Giles said. "You'll have to be at the top of your game when you face them."

"Sticking to the metaphor, Giles? Don't worry. In this game, I'm in a league of my own."

"If you're all done with the usual blathering now, you might want to listen to what Xander has to say." Cordelia said. "While Buffy was fighting with her dead boyfriend and his pasty grandfather, we paid a visit to a part of town my precious car should never have to go to again."

"Xander, you got something from Willy?" Buffy asked him. Xander stopped pacing and faced them.

"Got some pretty interesting stuff, actually. Course I had to promise not to rough him up."

"Hmm…and give him twenty dollars or so." Giles said.

"Forty." Cordelia corrected.

"Does anyone want to hear this?" Xander said impatiently. "Anyway, apparently there's a ship loaded with black market supernatural knick-knacks arriving in at the docks tonight. Willy overheard some of the Aurelius vamps say they're expecting a package and are supposed to be there to meet it."

"And so will we." Buffy said. Everyone nodded, understanding the next plan. They were going to the docks to get the cargo.

"Just be careful, Buff." Xander said.

"Always, I'm just worried what happens when I run into Angel. How do I destroy the Master, without killing him too?"

"Maybe that's not the question you need to ask."

Buffy understood what he meant, but she couldn't help shake the feeling of worry off her shoulders. Willow must have understood her feelings as she stared at her intently.

"Don't worry, Buffy. We'll find a way to get rid of the Master and get the old Angel back. Well, not the old Angel, so much as the new old Angel. Without the smoking. And the torture. And the homicide."

"I had to kill him once before. I don't know if I can take having to do it again."

"You'll do what has to be done, Buffy. You always have." Willow said softly.

"Thanks, Will."

"The Master and Angel - two of the most feared vampires in history bundled into one lethal package." Xander thought out loud. "What really sucks is that the chicks will probably still dig him. Damn that vampire mystique!"

Xander noticed everyone was looking at him. He decided to quickly change the subject.

"So, how much time do we have before we go? I think Cordelia's tire has a slow leak. No matter how often I pump it up, it's never long before it needs more pumping."

"Wait, one more thing, Buffy." Giles said as he rose from his office. He held a sharp-edged tool in his hand. It was rounded on both sides, and dull and skinny in the middle where Giles held it. It looked to Buffy like the blade of a battle axe or something like that.

"What you got there, Giles?" Buffy asked him.

"It is called a Reaper Blade. Forged in 12th century Germany from various holy relics claimed during the Crusades, it is blessed with an uncanny supernatural sharpness and durability. Once you've gained experience with the blade, you may also attach the Reaper Wing, which will allow you to throw the blade with great force and accuracy." he placed the handle of the wing in her hands, she was surprised how light it felt.

"A new toy, and it isn't even my birthday. You're always thinking of me, Giles. If I get good with the wing, when do I get the Reaper Shoes to complete the ensemble?"

"Sadly there are no Reaper Shoes."

"Well, still, one could dream." then Buffy's faced hardened. "I just hope I won't have to use this on Angel."

Xander walked up and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Guess we'd better get going, huh?" he asked her.

Buffy nodded her head silently and walked out the library. Willow, Xander, and Cordelia followed behind. They walked down the quiet, empty halls of the school, towards the parking lot where Cordelia was parked. Willow caught up to Buffy and looked at her sadly, still aware of Buffy's growing concern for Angel.

"Don't worry. We'll find a way to fix this."

Buffy let out a pained smile. Her small words seemed to have an effect on her.

"I know, I just can't help but worry about him all the time. Ever since he came back to me."

"Looks like your boyfriend is all 'Grrr' again. Sucks to be you." Cordelia butted in.

"Cordelia, do you ever shut up?" Xander yelled from behind them.

---

Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia stood in the front office of the dock, going over the next set of plans. Xander and Cordelia shared the chair in front of the computer console. Cordelia was tying her hair back in a ponytail, Xander sat next to her, idly playing with his fingers. Willow was on the opposite side of the room, leaning against a bookcase. Giles stayed behind in the library, he still had research to do on the tattoos imprinted on the long-haired vamp and the snake-vamp she just killed.

"In what fantasy did you imagine I'd go into a place as grimy as this?" Cordelia said after tying her hair back.

"The one where you're…wait, that was a rhetorical question, wasn't it?" Buffy replied sourly. "Hey, feel free to hang out here and guard the entrance. Make sure none of the Aurelius vampires get out."

A look of shook struck Cordy's face.

"On second thought, the search will go much faster with an extra set of eyes." she said.

"I'll start searching the warehouse for suspicious, supernatural cargo." Xander said.

"You be careful with the searching."

"Got it. What a time for me to be without one of those supernatural cargo sniffing dogs."

"Okay, thought occurring." Willow piped up. "We shouldn't rule out the possibility that the nasty Dreamer demon cargo hasn't been unloaded from the ship yet."

"Possible, but let's check the warehouse first." Buffy replied.

"Aye aye, captain. Always wanted to say that." Willow beamed.

"I'll head out first. I'll go clear the way of any vampires or nasty demons then I'll come back for you guys. Don't want any nasty surprises."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Buffy waved and walked out into the night, clutching the Reaper Wing in her sweaty palm.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." she thought out loud.

Two figures suddenly jumped out and landed next to her. Two vampires stood on each side of her. Buffy turned around with the Wing and decapitated the third vampire that snuck up from behind her before he realized what was about to happen. The head wore a look of shock before it dusted along with the body. Buffy spun around in a perfect 180 degree arc with the wing extended, decapitated the vampire to the right of her.

The third vampire turned around and ran. Buffy brought the Wing up and threw it like a Frisbee. The Wing soared threw the air and cut through the vamp's neck, severing his head. The vampire dusted before his head hit the ground.

"Wow, that is one hell of a weapon!" she said, grinning.

A loud crash sounded inside the warehouse.

"Slayer! You're going down!"

A leather-clad vampire jumped through a broken window in the warehouse and came running for her. Buffy tried to duck, but he was faster than she expected. He back-handed her across the face and followed in with an uppercut. Buffy hit the ground hard on her back.

"You know? I like the way your face looks on my boot." the vamp remarked

Buffy brought her foot up swiftly, and kicked him between the legs. The vampire let out a comical yell.

"I bet you say that to all your victims." Buffy retorted.

She leaped back up and came in with punches. The vamp grabbed her wrist in mid-punch and held her.

"You're almost too pretty to kill, but not quite." he said.

"So sorry I had to disappoint you."

Buffy broke from his grasp and kicked him square in the chest. The vampire flew back and landed against the crane, the sharp, wooden edge of the lift protruded from his chest. The vampire dusted as he looked down at his wound.

"He wasn't man enough for me."

Buffy walked up to where she dusted the last vamp and found the Wing lying next to a stack of crates. Buffy picked up the weapon and looked up. The crates stacked up to ledge. Buffy climbed up the crates and reached the ledge. She walked up to a door on the left, into a small office.

---

Xander paced back and forth around the office, constantly checking his watch waiting for Buffy to return and let them know the coast was clear.

_Why does she think she can always do something on her own? What is taking her so long? She probably forgot all about us and she's out there right now looking for the crate without our help._

He wanted to go after her, but he knew the girls would protest. He looked to see Willow sitting on the floor next to the shelf, thumbing through a book. Cordelia was on her cell phone, talking to Harmony.

He decided he would sneak out. He grabbed the crossbow off the desk and quietly walked up to the door and opened it. He watched them carefully. Both of them paid him no mind. Xander quietly snuck out the building and closed the door. He walked off towards the warehouse, crossbow in hand, looking for any signs of Buffy.

Cordelia hung up her phone and put it back in her purse.

"Xander, do you have any money on you? Harmony wants to go to the mall tonight, but I'm sorta strapped for cash. Xander?"

She looked up at Xander, only to notice he wasn't there.

"Willow, where did Xander go?"

Willow looked up quickly from her book.

"I don't know, he was just here a minute ago."

_This is so like him._

"He took the crossbow. Maybe he went looking for Buffy." Willow said.

"Should we go looking for him?" Cordelia asked.

"That won't be necessary." a familiar voice said.

Both girls looked up to see Giles walk into the office. He held a stack of books and a crossbow in his hands.

"You girls don't worry about him. I'll go out and find him, you two stay in here. We still need to find research on the tattoo, and Willow, I need you to look through these, see if you can anything on performing exorcisms..."

"But Giles…" Willow protested.

"No buts, Willow. I'll go handle the situation. You two can stay in here. If you want to be useful, try to find anything you can on spirit channeling. Things will go a lot faster this way."

Willow sighed and silently agreed. Giles sat the books down on the table.

He cocked the crossbow, and left the room with no further words.

Willow picked up the first book and began searching.

---

Giles walked into the vast warehouse. Besides the few piles of dust outside, he saw no sign of Xander or Buffy. He hated to have to leave the girls in the office like that, but he figured that was the best course of action. With them doing research while he, Buffy, and Xander took care of the current situation, they would get things done a lot faster.

He raised the crossbow instantly as a figure jumped down from the ledge above. He unleashed a bolt and the vampire dusted instantly. Two more vampires jumped down from the ledge and ran towards him. He unleashed two more bolts. Each fount their spots successfully, reducing both vampires to ash.

Figures suddenly arose form the dark shadows of the warehouse. Giles counted over a dozen vampires as they came into view.

Giles dusted the first of the vamps as it came near, but he was suddenly ambushed. A cocky vampire came close enough and knocked the bow out of his hands. The bow hit the ground with a hard crack, breaking in two.

"You bloody idiot. That was my favorite bow."

He reached into his belt and pulled out a battle axe. He immediately started hacking as the remaining vamps rushed at him one by one.

---

Xander walked through the storage room, his new find in hand. He walked up past the window, and stopped when he saw the familiar figure walk past.

"Buffy!"

Buffy stopped and faced him.

"Xander! Hey, what's up?"

"Where've you been, Buff? We were waiting for you to come back for us at the office."

Buffy slapped herself on the forehead.

"Oh, I'm sorry Xander. I got too caught up. I ran into a bunch of vampires outside the warehouse and I caught up in the heat of the battle, I totally forgot about you guys. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Anyways, I think I found something. Take a gander at these." He held up the huge yellow shell-like thingy he found in the storage room. "Didn't find any supernatural knick-knacks, but I did find either monster fish scales that could be used as beautifully decorative ashtrays, or really big guitar picks."

"Hmmm. Looks like the shell droppings of the dreaded jumbo shrimp demon." she replied.

Xander laughed nervously.

"You are kidding, right?"

"I never kid about demonic seafood."

Xander jumped back in surprise at the thought of actual demon big enough to belong to the piece he held in his hand.

"I think I'll go look for more suspicious crates and such."

Buffy smiled and waved. Xander returned the gesture and went on his way.

---

Cordelia sat at the computer console and connected to the internet.

_How hard can it be to find a stupid tattoo?_

She went to Google and began typing.

"Hmm, let's see. A...U….R…E…L….where's the I?…here we go, I….U…S…T…A…T…T…O…O and S! There!"

She clicked the search button and the results popped up from the screen. "Results 1-10 of about 3,484" appeared on the blue margin.

"Okay, let's see here."

Cordelia clicked on the first site.

---

Buffy jogged down the wooden pier. Up ahead, she saw Xander. He was inside another building, waving for her to come near. Buffy picked up the pace and came up to the opening where Xander was waiting.

"Hey Buffy! I think I've…"

The wooden walkway suddenly busted apart, wooden planks flew into the air, plunging into the murky water. A huge demon jumped up from the opening, and landed on the pier. It had to be the ugliest monster Buffy had ever seen. It had a tiny, fishy head on top of a tall, lean, muscular body. Huge yellow fish scales identical to the one Xander held lined his back.

"Thought you were kidding about the whole jumbo shrimp thing." Xander said.

"I…I thought I was t-too." Buffy replied, surprise stuttering her voice.

The shrimp demon cleared the distance between them in one fluid motion. It lashed a long claw out and hit her square in the chest. Buffy fell back against the wall. She sucked up the pain in her chest and got up before the demon could do anymore damage to her. She swiped at it with the Reaper Wing, cutting two huge, gaping wounds into its chest. The demon struck her across the face. She spun in the air and landed on the dock. The demon jumped up to her and leaned down towards her, opening its huge jaws, attempting to rip out her throat.

_When are demons going to learn that little tactic never works?_

Buffy brought the edge of the Wing up and cleaved it into its throat. Hot blood spilled onto Buffy's shirt and all over her arms. The demon backed off and gagged in pain. Buffy jumped up and spun the Wing in a huge arc. The blade cut through the demon's open wound in its torso, and sliced through the rest of its body. The demon stopped gagging as it split in two. Its upper half plunged into the water.

Buffy turned around to the building. Xander was gone. She figured he must have run off after the shrimp demon appeared. She leaped over the gaping hole in the docks where the demon came out of and walked up to the dark building up ahead. She opened up the door and walked through the empty building. She reached for the door at the other end, but was suddenly blasted back from an incredible force. She flew back and hit the wall. She looked up from the wall, and saw Big Baldy, the huge vampire from The Bronze, standing in the doorway.

Buffy tried to lift up, but could not find the strength. Baldy lumbered towards her, hunger shimmered in his glowing eyes. Buffy found the strength and rolled out the way just as the vamp reached her. She jumped up from her roll and ducked out of the way just as he brought a humongous fist down. The fist missed her head by inches and got stuck in the wall. Buffy rushed up to the Wing and swiped it up. She flung it hard, and it sliced through the vamp's thick neck. Both the head and the huge body dusted as they hit the ground.

"Just needed to take a little off the top."

---

Willow studied the spell she found in one of the huge leather spell books. The spell was used to exorcise ghosts out of the bodies of their selected victims. Willow was sure that was the spell she needed. The spell would require a bunch of stinky herbs and tribal masks that she was sure Giles had locked up in the library somewhere.

"Ah ha!" Cordelia yelled loudly.

"What is it?" Willow asked as she sat up from the floor.

"I found something on the tattoos from that vamp with the bad haircut and his snaky girlfriend. It says right here that some vampires perform a crazy ritual where they have to burn a sigil on their forehead and worship some dark power. The rite allows them to become part of their inner animal, whatever that means."

"Cordelia, this is great! You found something!"

"Great! Now let's go tell Giles. Only we don't know where he is."

"He'll come back. I have good news for him too. I found a way to exorcise the Master from Angel. We just need to get the supplies from the library."

"You just always want to find a way to steal all my glory, don't you?"

Willow smiled slyly.

"I'm irrational that way."

---

Xander hid behind a stack of crates, listening intently to the vampire's conversation. The cargo that he and Buffy were looking for was sitting inside a docked ship. Blue mist illuminated around the box, indicating the supernaturalness of the cargo.

"The cargo appears to be intact," the first vamp said. "heavy though. They're going to have to hook it up to the crane."

"Excellent, the Master will be pleased." the second vamp replied.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Until the last Dreamer is in his hands, there's still a chance we may fail him."

"Don't even say it. I don't want to think about what he could do to us then."

The huge crane lifted the cargo out of the boat. Xander glanced up and saw a vampire at the operator chamber of the crane. A figure leaped into view in the far distance. Xander recognized Buffy as she landed on her feet, behind the two vampires. The vampires ran at her, but Buffy was quick. She snapped a sidekick at the first vampire, and brought her blade down onto his neck, decapitating him. The second vampire soon followed as Buffy swung the Wing towards her neck.

_Damn, that is one hell of a weapon!_

More vamps ran out at her. The vampire operating the crane rushed past him to join the battle. Xander came out from behind the stack of crates and silently crept up the ladder to the crane's controls.

The hatch separating the two rooms began to close up. Buffy eliminated two more vampires, and ran towards the closing hatch. She dodged a few more vampires, and performed a diving roll through the hatch just as it slammed shut. Buffy glanced up as Xander called down to her.

"Hey, Buff, up here! I'm a crane operator!"

"Do your thing and send it down, crane operator man." she called up.

Xander studied the controls, looking for the right switch, when suddenly a vampire came out of nowhere.

"It's clobbering time!"

The vampire grabbed him by the throat and shoved him against the wall.

"Hey! What are you trying to do, kill me?"

"That would be the point, yes." the vampire replied.

Xander kicked him in the shin and punched him back. The vampire released his grip and fell back against the controls. A loud hum sounded, followed by Buffy's frantic cry.

"Xander!"

He heard a loud crash, and the sound of wood breaking.

"That's it, I'm calling my union rep."

Xander shoved the vampire off the controls. The vampire fell back and out the window. He heard the vamp's frantic scream, then the sound of him reducing to dust. He looked out the window to see a pile of dust circled around a huge wooden beam. The cargo was laying on the ground off to the far left, and Buffy was nowhere in sight. Xander fell back against the wall, exhausted.

"Whew! Another hard day on the docks for crane operator man."

Buffy stood up slowly. Every muscle in her body ached, and she felt like she couldn't find a bone in her body that wasn't broken. The last thing she remembered was seeing Xander struggle against a vampire, then a huge box swinging towards her as she called out to him. She looked towards the crane and saw the huge box sitting there, a blue mist formed around the box.

"Eerie mist. Eerie mist is never of the good."

The front of the box suddenly popped open and fell to the floor. Inside, she saw a hideous figure bound in leather and chains, the same figure she saw in one of her dreams the other night.

"Curly?"

One by one, the chains that bound the Dreamer in the box came loose. The Dreamer floated out of its prison. Blue energy illuminated around the Dreamer. Its head twitched vigorously as if in agony.

_Let me shorten that pain for you, sweetie._

Buffy ran up to the Dreamer and sliced at it with the Reaper Wing. The Wing struck the sphere of energy, and a bone-jarring jolt of electricity struck her and knocked her unceremoniously on her ass.

"Okay, that was a dumb idea. Time for a better plan."

Buffy turned around and began running. The Dreamer was a lot quicker than she expected. It soared towards her, and smacked against her with the glowing sphere. The impact would have killed anybody, but luckily she had the Slayer strength to withstand it.

The Dreamer hovered over her body as she tried to find the strength to get back up. Two tendrils of energy wrapped around her body and lifted her up, surrounding her with blue electricity. Buffy felt waves and waves of electricity pulsating through her body. She felt her energy begin to diminish. The Dreamer struck out with a powerful wave that sent her soaring across the warehouse.

Buffy slowly picked herself up to her knees, unable to find the strength to stand up. The blue energy around the Dreamer began to fade. Its last move apparently took a lot of power. Buffy looked at her hand in amazement as she noticed she was still holding the Reaper Wing. She suspected she would be able to cut through the sphere while it was still weak. She gathered up all the energy she could muster and flung the blade. The blade cut through the sphere and sliced through the neck of the Dreamer. The energy crackled and burst in an explosion of blinding blue light, then it faded away. When everything cleared, nothing stood there except for the two, smoking pieces of the Reaper Wing.

---

Giles busted through the door after he heard the explosion, exhausted and weary from the troubles he faced to get over here. He ran into a dozen or so more vampires after escaping the first group he ran into back at the warehouse nearby where he left Willow and Cordelia.

He looked down, and saw the Reaper Wing. It was broken in two, both pieces were badly burned.

"Giles."

He glanced up and saw Buffy leaning against a stack of crates. Giles ran up and helped her up to her feet.

"Buffy, are you alright? What happened?"

"I came face to face with one of the Dreamers. He almost had me, but I got him."

"How do you feel?"

"A little worn out, but I'm getting better. He barely managed to drain the life out of me. I just need to get out of these clothes, take a nice hot shower. I'll be alright."

"Sounds like my kind of night." Xander said as he walked up to join them from the top of the crane. "Got into a tangle with on of the Aurelius vamps, but I held my own. Nothing Xander Harris the crane operator man can't handle. So Buffy, what happened out there?"

Buffy managed a weak smile.

"Long story, let's just get back to the library. As much as I just want to crawl into bed right now, we have a lot of stuff to discuss. But first, I need to get home and take that shower I'm jonesing for right now."

"Indeed." Giles said.

The three of them made their way back to the front office.


	9. Bad Kitty

Spike and Malik made their way through the chambers of the sunken church. They had to report back to the Master immediately. Buffy managed to eliminate the Dreamer he and Malik were supposed to retrieve from the docks, and the Master wasn't too happy about it. Spike talked a little about his history as they walked; glad to finally be making some sort of conversation with the uptight wanker.

"Yeah, I killed a couple-three in my time. Kinda lost track of em' now. Take it from the Big Bad, mate. Slayers, they're not so bleedin' tough."

They made it up to the Master. He was still walking around in Angel's skin. He turned around from the gaping hole behind him; the two remaining Dreamers hovered besides him.

"The Dreamers are greatly displeased by your failure to protect their brother, as am I." he started. "However, despite your incompetence, I have conceived a means of harnessing and amplifying the remaining Dreamer's powers that should allow the Order to complete its mission. My plan requires the forging of a Deglon Sphere using a mixture of steel and blood taken from the surviving Dreamers. Even as we speak, my followers go to wrest control of a local foundry from its human proprietors. Now then, while all of the important work is going on, the two of you will deal with the Slayer and her meddling cohorts."

He extended his arm. A bolt of energy crackled from his hand and struck both him and Malik, lifting them off the ground. Agonizing pain seared through his body. Spike clenched his teeth, attempting to withstand the pain.

"I cannot even begin to stress the importance of your success. Fail me again, and I'll have you both brutally tortured before I get bored enough to personally rip out your spines."

He let his arm down, releasing Spike and Malik from his magickal grasp. Spike doubled over in agony. He resisted the urge to rip the Master's throat out, knowing that would be suicide.

"And Spike?" the Master said, looking down at him. "Disappoint me, and your beloved Drusilla's well-being is forfeit as well, understood?"

"Crystal." then he said under his breath, "You pointy-eared old wanker."

He was sick and tired having Drusilla's life on the line. He wouldn't stand being the Master's whipping boy any longer. He would visit the Slayer, but he wasn't going to kill her. He had another plan in mind.

---

Buffy and the rest of the gang sat around in the library. Buffy felt rejuvenated after going home and taking a hot shower. She changed into a blue blouse and black leather pants. Her damp hair was tied back in a ponytail.

Buffy stood in the office, talking to Giles. Willow, Xander, and Cordelia sat around at the table, waiting for her to tell them the next set of plans.

"So one down, two to go?" she asked Giles.

"Hmm?" he asked, looking up at her. "Oh yes, of course. Without the combined power of the three Dreamers, the Master should be unable to execute his plans."

"Well that's…very cool." Buffy said, trying to be excited about the news. "If it wasn't for the whole Angel being possessed thing I'd say it even called for a celebration with ice cream."

"To be absolutely certain the Master's purpose has been averted, we must track down the remaining Dreamers and destroy them."

"And find a way to exorcise the Master's ghost from Angel." Buffy added.

"Yes, of course."

"And THEN the ice cream."

"If you insist." Giles sighed. "Now look, you'll have to track a member of the Order of Aurelius back to whatever location they've chosen as their layer."

"I'm on it."

Buffy walked out of the office and stood by the table. Willow was sitting down in the chair next to her, looking cheerier than usual.

"Hey Will, how ya doin'?" Buffy asked her.

Willow looked up from her homework.

"Great! Better than great! Magnificent. Well enough that I'm tempted to add cuss words for emphasis."

"You found something?"

"I damn well did indeed. I found a special spell of protection that should give the Master a big ol' eviction notice, get him out of Angel's body and keep him from going back in. Yay me! Now all you have to do is find the Master's new hideout."

"I'm working on it."

"Let it be known that Willow was not the only one who was useful." Cordelia butted in.

"Let me guess, you painted your nails, went out for pizza, and pumped your own tire this time?" Buffy retorted.

"Actually, Cordelia was quite helpful." Giles called out from his office.

"Thank you, Giles." Cordelia replied. "See, quite helpful. Looks like I'm doing all the hard work around here tonight. I helped Giles research those funky tattoos on the two vamps, that snake shapeshifter and the other one? Looks like there's some kind of magickal thingy that allows a vampire to get down with its "inner animal aspect", whatever that's supposed to mean. And what is up with the vampires and the whole leather look anyway? It's like they've seen too many movies and bought into their own hype. Gotta have the look, the attitude…and suddenly thinking the world of darkness, a lot like Hollywood."

"Thank you, Cordelia. Even though once again you've managed to say way more than you need to, you've been a big help."

"I'll just go ahead and take that as a compliment." Cordelia snapped.

Buffy almost regretted saying that, Cordelia really was useful when she wanted to. She decided not to say anything else.

"I, for one, deserve an ice-cream-type reward." Xander said, cutting into the uncomfortable silence. "I was pretty impressive out there, if I do say so myself. Working that crane, fighting vamps, nearly falling unconscious. I was a sight to behold."

"You were quite the crane operator." Buffy agreed.

"So, what's next?" he asked. "More crane operation? Some Slayer patrol duty, perhaps?"

"I'm about to go head out and find the Master's layer, see if I can get a hold on Angel. I'll be right back, you guys."

Buffy turned around and headed out the door. Just as she pushed the door open, a loud crash like glass breaking sounded from behind. Buffy spun around to see another one of those spiny demons she encountered back at the mansion standing in a pile of glass. He apparently came in through the skylight above.

The demon skittered towards a shocked Cordelia standing up by the table. The demon slashed Cordelia in the gut. She fell backwards and crashed against the table. Willow, Xander, Buffy and Giles rushed immediately to her aid. The demon leaped into the air and kicked out at Buffy. The blow sent her flying backwards, out the library and into the halls.

The demon skittered out the library, towards her. She jumped up quickly and snapped a kick at its face. Her foot struck the demon violently in the jaw, she heard a loud snap as the demon's spine gave out. The demon fell limply to the tile floor. Buffy took out her stake from her pocket and rammed it into the demon's heart out of sheer instinct. The demon let out an inhuman scream of pain, and died, disappearing into green mist.

Buffy ran back into the library. Cordelia was sitting on top of the table, cradling her gut. Xander stood by her, while Willow and Giles looked around for something to dress the wound.

"Hey, Cordy, you all right?" Buffy asked.

"Hey, Buffy, you blind? Do I look all right?" she retorted.

Buffy rolled her eyes and smiled smugly.

"She's fine, trust me." She turned to Giles. "Sit tight, Giles. I'm going to head out and beat the brush a little, see what scurries out."

"Have a care, Buffy. The Master may be attempting to lure you into a trap." he warned cautiously.

"Again? That trick never works. Don't worry, I'll be careful. Besides, there are other students in the building, and they'll need someone looking out for them."

"Good luck."

"Buffy, I know I don't have to tell you, but I have to tell you." Willow said. "If you run into Angel, don't forget he's not himself these days. Master in the house."

"You're right, you didn't have to tell me, but thanks. If I have to beat the crap out him, I'll work up some Master imagery in my head. Still got some anger from that time he killed me."

Cordelia shut her eyes, breathing out through clenched teeth.

"Just hold on, Cor, hold on. They'll never master that cheer routine if you die on me now." she said to herself.

She opened her eyes and stared at Buffy sternly.

"Okay, Buffy? In case you didn't notice, that was your cue to seek out medical attention for the dying cheer queen!"

"You deal with the vamp problem while I make a pit stop at the nurse's office. I think Trauma Girl here's gonna need some help from the medicine cabinet." Xander said.

"Trauma Girl! Whoa! Xander, you could at least have the decency to keep the room from spinning!" Cordelia snapped.

Xander ignored her, and jogged out the library.

"Okay, you guys stay here, keep an eye on her." Buffy said.

Willow and Giles silently agreed. Buffy took her stake back out and walked into the halls.

---

Malik crossed the courtyard of the high school, the bomb held tightly under his arm. Spike went off on his own, said he was going to divert the Slayer and her friends, keep them busy while he planted the bomb. Malik was grateful to get the irritating vampire off his back for awhile. Spike was too rebellious, and too reckless. His irresponsible ways would one day get him killed.

Malik stopped at the door and sniffed the air. He could smell the Slayer's hot blood. She was somewhere in the courtyard. The wind blew towards him, carrying her scent towards him. He didn't want to fight her face to face, not unless he had to. He remembered how strong she was when he encountered her last night at the library. He signaled for his lackeys to hunt her down.

"What was that?" he said as he pointed towards her general direction. The vampires obliged. Malik opened the door to the hallway and slipped quietly inside.

---

Xander rummaged through the medical supplies, grabbing all that he could: bandages, gauzes, peroxide, iodine, etc. He stuffed some of the supplies in his pockets and carried the rest in his arms. He pushed the door open and made his way down the hallway, towards the library. Footsteps sounded ahead in the hallway. Xander looked up ahead and saw two vampires making their way down. Xander quickly ducked into boy's restroom, and listened through the door.

"So, what is supposed to be going down?" one vampire asked.

"Malik is setting up a firework show for us tonight. He's setting up a bomb down in the basement as we speak." the other one answered.

"What exactly are we supposed to be doing, then?"

"Keeping the Slayer and her friends at bay. Spike is supposed to give us a signal when we clear out. All we have to do is keep the Slayer from finding out about the bomb."

_And a great job your doing at that. _Xander thought to himself.

Xander waited as the footsteps faded off, then he came out from the restroom and jogged the rest of the way back to the library, careful not to drop anything. He had to tell the Scoobs before the bomb went off.

---

"They're what!" Giles yelled after Xander told them what he had just heard in the hallway. Willow wrapped the bandage around Cordelia's ankle. She wasn't hurt bad. Luckily the demon didn't break the skin, and Cordelia managed to survive with only a few bruises and a sprained ankle. Willow listened intently as Xander reran over his discovery.

"And you just heard this? Like, a minute ago?" Willow asked.

"Well duh, Willow. You just heard him!" Cordelia said

"I overheard them out in the hall when I came out of the nurse's office. They said some guy named Malik was "setting up a firework show" or something like that."

"What should we do?" Willow asked.

"Willow, go find Buffy. Tell her about the bomb and see if she can diffuse it."

"Okay, I know Buffy is like a professional at kicking ass and everything, but what makes you think she can diffuse a bomb?" Cordelia asked as Willow finished taping up her ankle.

"Only one way to find out." Xander said.

---

Buffy walked down the hall, crossbow cocked and ready for any vampire activity. There were a handful of them roaming the hallways of the school. She even ran into a couple of the shrimp demons, and a batch of the spiny demons along the way.

"Buffy!" Willow called as she came running down the hallway. From the look on her face, Buffy could tell something was wrong.

"Willow, what is it?"

"Not to add chaos to catastrophe, but Xander overheard two Aurelius vamps talking about a package in the boiler room, the exploding kind. They're gonna blow up the school!"

"Normally a cause for celebration, especially considering the history paper I turned in." Buffy said, trying to hide the panic in her voice. "But, silly me, I'd rather the school not explode with us on the inside. Not to mention all the other people in the school right now. And Giles would be so sad about the books. Off to the boiler room to play bomb squad. Get everyone else out of here, Will. Cuz, y'know, I'm not really a member of the bomb squad."

"Going, quickly. Don't blow up." Willow took off to take care of the task.

"I'll try not to." Buffy said to herself.

Buffy took a left down the hallway and jogged across. She stopped suddenly when she heard a loud scream come from one of the classrooms. She could hear a girl pleading through one of the doors.

"Let go of me! Help!"

She could hear two men laughing in there, vampires.

Buffy kicked the door down. Two vampires held a brunette girl by her arms, holding her towards a small streaming jet of flames that erupted from a gas nozzle underneath a lit Bunsen burner.

"I love blood cooked under an open flame." one of the rowdy vampires said.

_Can you say corny?_

Buffy shot a crossbow, dusting one before he knew what was going on. The other vamp released his grip. The girl shoved past him and ran out the door behind Buffy in a panicked fit.

Buffy aimed the crossbow at the remaining vampire and fired. The vampire jumped back in surprise as the bow hit him just below the chest. The vampire looked down at the bolt.

"You missed."

"No I didn't."

The vampire's arm caught ablaze as it got stuck in the flames. The vampire screamed out in panic as the flames traveled up his arms, engulfing him. The vampire dissipated along with the flames, leaving behind a smoking pile of dust.

Buffy checked the bow to find no more bolts. She dropped it on the ground and took out her stake. She walked to the other side of the chemistry lab to the other door. The door suddenly splintered open, and a vampire came rushing into the room, right past her. Buffy spun around and drove the stake into his back, dusting him instantly.

Buffy went through the doorway the vampire just went through, and out into another hall. She made her way down the hall and jogged down the steps to the first floor.

Two spiny demons skittered out of the basement door up ahead, leaving behind a green barrier. Buffy threw her stake with great force and accuracy. The stake rammed into the skull of the first demon. The demon squealed in pain, scratching at the stake trying to take it out. It fell to the floor, spasming, then it died. The second demon made its way towards her, and slashed out with its claws. Buffy jumped back from the swipe. She leaped up and wrapped her legs around the demon's neck, and let herself fall back. Using the momentum from the fall, she drove the demon's head into the tile floor as she landed. Blood and matter splattered all over the hallway. The demon died out, and the barrier dissipated.

Buffy entered the doorway and made her way down and through the basement. She found the bomb in the same spot where the main power switch was. There was a digital timer on the package that counted down to detonation; she had a little over two minutes left. She found a single wire that ran along the length of the bomb. She held her breath tightly, and yanked the cord. The timer stopped at 2:03, and stayed there. Buffy exhaled deeply.

"Hey, look at that. I didn't blow us up." she said in a shaky voice.

"You can't win, Slayer. There's only one of you, and there's an endless supply of us." a vampire said behind her.

"C'mon, give a girl a break!"

She turned around to face him. Just as he made his way over to her, Buffy kicked him in his knee caps. He doubled over in pain, and Buffy drove a stake into his back, reducing him to dust. She ran out of the basement, and made her way through the hallways, she opened up the double doors and out into courtyard. She jogged down the courtyard towards the other building.

"Good evening, Slayer." a voiced called down.

Buffy looked up and saw the long-haired vamp she saw a few times with Spike, the one she fought last night before Willow's abduction. He was standing atop the roof of the building she came out of.

_What is with this guy and rooftops?_

"Guess you're kinda sore about me dusting your snaky girlfriend."

"You are formidable prey, Slayer, but you face a truly worthy adversary."

Then he changed. Thick, yellow hair grew out around his body. His hands stretched out into long paws. It was like watching an even more sick and twisted version of Oz's transformations during a full moon.

The huge cat on top of the roof roared into the night sky and leaped off the roof, right in front of her. The cat swung a humongous paw towards her face. She took one hard to the side of the face and fell back dazed. She lay dizzily on the ground as the cat prepared for its next move. Buffy knew she was finished.

---

Spike watched from the shadows as Malik attacked Buffy in his huge cat form. The Slayer managed to roll out of the way before Malik came in with a finishing blow. He watched as the Slayer got back to her feet, and flung a flurry of punches and kicks that never connected. Along with the animal transformation, Malik had the power to materialize and immaterialize as he pleased. Even Spike had to admit that wasn't fair. He loved nothing more than watching Buffy squirm, but he didn't want her killed, not yet.

---

Buffy was getting batted back and forth. No matter what she did, the cat would disappear, dodging her every move, then reappearing somewhere besides her and pounding her down to the ground.

Eventually, she caught on to his pattern. She counted how many seconds between his disappearances and reappearances. Whenever the cat materialized behind her, Buffy came in swinging, but her blows did not have much of an effect.

Buffy risked a glance and saw her stake lying on the ground. She threw a punch to the beast, and he dodged it again by teleporting. Buffy quickly rolled on the pavement and snatched up her stake. The beast materialized in front of her while she was still on the ground. She slid underneath and stood up behind him. The beast disappeared again, but Buffy was ready. Just as soon as he materialized again, Buffy swung back with the stake. The stake pierced through the beast's chest, and into his undead heart. Buffy stepped back and watched as the beast fruitlessly attempted to remove the stake, growing weaker. His body finally gave out and he fell to the pavement, unmoving.

"Hunh, guess tiger guy doesn't do the whole ashes to ashes thing. Or maybe his 'inner animal' is more possum than tiger."

Buffy turned around and walked towards the building she was trying to get through earlier, puzzled at the vampire-cat's simple defeat. As if on cue, she heard the sound of heavy paws charging towards her. She spun around and braced for the impact as the beast ran at her then pounced through the air. A long, wooden shaft suddenly pierced through his chest. The cat exploded in a cloud of ash before he reached her.

Buffy coughed as the ashes reached her lungs. When the dust cleared up, Spike was standing there.

"Bad pussy! Never cared much for cats, more of a dog person really. Shapeshifting like that, sometimes the heart isn't in the same place. Gotta be more persistent, Slayer. And sometimes you just need a longer shaft." he said.

Buffy couldn't believe Spike out of all people decided to save her life like that. There had to be something he wanted. The Spike she knew last year would of loved to see her get ripped to shreds by the giant feline.

"All right, Spike, what's going on? Spill it." she demanded.

"Excuse me, young miss. Let me remind you that I just saved your life. You can come down from DefCon 1 now. I'm here to form a truce. Y'know, bury the hatchet, that sort of thing. We have a common enemy, you and I, and an alliance might just prove beneficial. Or have you forgotten all about your bloodsucking boy toy being hijacked by the Master?"

Buffy hated to admit it, but Spike was right. She eased her tension, and then signaled Spike to follow her. They both made their way back to the library.

---

Giles was sitting in his kitchen with a glass of brandy when the phone rang. He ran to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Giles?"

It was Buffy. Xander and Willow got off the couch and came to join them, an eager look of anticipation and fear etched on their faces.

"Buffy, is everything all right?"

"Five by five, as Faith would put it. I managed to stop the bomb threat. I ran into the vampire with the girlie hair, looks like Cordelia was right, as much as I hate to say that. He transformed into some kind of tiger on steroids. We put the cat to sleep though. He's dust."

"We?"

"I'll explain at the library. Just be here in a few." with that, she hung up.

"What did she say?" Xander asked.

"Everything is fine. We have to meet her back at the library; she has something to tell us."

"Don't you guys ever get sick of that place? How come we can never meet somewhere a lot less musty, like a mall, or…wait, that's the only thing we have in this stupid town." Cordelia groaned. She slowly rose off the couch and limped to the kitchen.

"Let's go."


	10. Temporary Ally

The gang glared at Spike angrily and cautiously, waiting for him to say what he had to say. Buffy could tell they were very uncomfortable with him in there, she felt the same. Giles, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia sat at the table together, keeping their distance. Buffy stood close by to make sure Spike didn't try anything.

"Yeah, well, lovely to see you lot again as well." Spike said uncomfortably.

"You're on borrowed time, Spike, alive by our sufferance. Perhaps you ought to skip the pleasantries." Giles warned.

"Right, if that's the way it is. So much for manners, eh Giles? Something tells me you've been in America too long." when no one responded, Spike continued. "Here's the deal. A big bad Old One by the name of Laibach is attempting to build a bridge between his tropical paradise of a demon dimension and our little plane of existence here. He plans to lead an army of demons into this world. Laibach needed the Master's expertise in opening dimensional portals and the Dreamers to alter reality and physically create the bridge to bring back Laibach's boys over to our side."

"And you've been errand boy this whole time." Buffy commented.

"Truth? I'm about as keen on Laibach's little plan as I was on Angelus's plot to let Acathla run amuck. The main reason I'm doing this is because Laibach has Dru in some kind of trance, and if I don't help, he'll take her lovely, fragile dove of a mind and put it through a blender. But I don't like being a lap dog. And since the Master's been back, things have gone from bad to badder as far as I'm concerned. The Master may be my great-great-grandsire, but the guy is a complete tosser and I don't trust him as far as YOU can throw him. Of course it doesn't help matters much that he now gels his hair, if you catch my meaning."

"So now you want to throw in with us, and I'm just supposed to trust you. You're betraying your allies NOW. Explain to me again why that should inspire confidence." Buffy said.

"Best reason in the world, Slayer, because they're the bad guys. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, remember? Look, I'll lead you to the Master's lair and lend a hand with the fisticuffs, and, in return, you help me rescue Dru. Then we'll be off again, out of your hair."

"If I agree, you don't touch Angel either. We're going to exorcise the Master from him."

"Fine with me. But in that case the Watcher and little Willow here are gonna have to whip up a special elixir or something witchy for me and Dru. In Casper mode, the Master has the power to possess any vampire in his bloodline, which includes the both of us, yeah?"

"Willow and I have just completed a spell of protection for Angel that should work equally for the two of you." Giles spoke up.

"See, knew it'll be no problem. Red's got that mojo working overtime these days. So, it's a deal then?"

"I haven't forgotten what happened the last time I trusted you. Double-cross us again, and I'll put both you and your psycho flower-child girlfriend in an urn." Buffy warned.

"Whatever happened to taking a man for his word?" Spike asked.

"You're not a man."

"Anyways, just make sure that protection spell of yours is working. I don't want that ugly sod dancing around in the Big Bad's head."

"Tell you what. As a show of good faith, I'll take point and trounce as many of the guards that I can on the way."

"Works for me, Slayer."

"You'd better not get in the way, Spike." she warned.

"I lend you my expertise in death and destruction, you lend me a hand in getting my Dru back, simple as that."

"Yeah, sure, whatever. But here's what I don't understand. I killed one of the Dreamers. How's the Master going to build this bridge?"

"He and his chum Laibach are planning on creating something called the Deglon Sphere. Way I understand it, it's got something to do with amplifying the powers of the surviving Dreamers."

_Not good _she thought.

She turned to Giles, who was still sitting at the table with the rest of the gang listening to her conversation with Spike.

"Giles, you know that old saying, "better the devil you know than the devil you don't?" What happens when you know them all, and way too well?" she asked him.

"Distasteful as it is to align ourselves with Spike, it does seem to be the sensible course of action. As long as we keep our priorities straight. The most vital element of our attack must be the disruption of Laibach's spell to augment the power of the remaining Dreamers. Everything else is secondary."

"Everything else?"

"Everything. The rescue of Drusilla, even Angel's safety. Reality as we know it hangs in the balance."

"Doesn't it always?"

She turned to Willow

"So you're with the spell to get the Master out of Angel?" Buffy asked her.

"Angel's probably fighting him already, but he's going to need you to give him an edge."

"Fine, what do I have to do?" she asked.

"Well, okay, it really wouldn't hurt if you, maybe kicked his ass a little? You need to weaken the Master's hold on him."

"Great. So, when we get to the hideout, the four of you will follow Spike, I'll search for the Master." Buffy ordered.

"What are you looking at me for? Haven't I done enough already?" Cordelia protested. "I twisted my ankle, I'm bruised and battered, and I broke a nail. I'm gonna have to sit this one out. And I'm real broken up about it too. Now maybe I can go home and meditate on why I wasted my whole night with you people."

Giles sighed and spoke up.

"Fine, Xander, Willow, and I will follow close behind Spike. Cordelia, you go home. When the moment arrives, we'll help to free Drusilla."

Everybody rose up from the desk. Xander, who had been quiet all this time, finally spoke up.

"I'm not sure I like this idea, doesn't my vote count?"

"This isn't a democracy, Xander. It's a Slayer-archy." Buffy replied.

"So you're a tyrant now?"

"No. I'm the girl saving the world from the forces of darkness. Which means if you want to help, you follow the plan."

"World, no world…Hmm, seeing the wisdom in the Slayer-archy suddenly. Though still feel the need to object to trusting Spike and to saving Drusilla. Let's not forget, Drusilla and I have a bit of history, I'd hate for her to get the wrong idea or anything. Remember she was jonesin' for me pretty bad there for awhile."

"That was because a witch put a love spell on her, you silly git." Spike said under clenched teeth.

"So you say, but you didn't see the look in her eyes. I'm thinking it was more than magic that night and…"

"Shut you gob, boy, before I rip your throat out." Spike sneered.

Buffy had to stop it before something broke out.

"Hey! Can we just go?"

"I've been ready." Xander said, shrugging his shoulders.

Giles went into the cage and passed out weapons. Buffy took a crossbow and headed out after Spike. Xander, Willow, and Giles followed. There was no way in hell Buffy was ever going to trust Spike, but tonight she had no choice, if she wanted Angel back. She just hoped they all were making the right decision.


	11. UnPossession

Maurice's stomach was growling. He never felt so hungry in his life, well, his after-life, if one wanted to call it that. He and Oscar were assigned to watch the gate for any trespassers trying to enter the foundry. It wasn't a complicated job. All he had to do was sit there. But after awhile, he started to get hungry and restless. The lust for blood was unbearable.

"I'm starvin' to death. We should hit a drive thru or something later. Them fast food clerks are usually delicious." He suggested to Oscar.

Oscar looked up from his nap, and shook his head.

"Nah. They're all greasy, high cholesterol. They give me gas."

Before they both knew it, the gas barrel behind them exploded. The two of them were thrown from the impact, dusting in mid-air from the flames that emitted from the explosion.

Spike and the Scoobs stepped over the growing flames.

"Subtlety, not one of your strong suits is it Spike?" Buffy smirked.

"Subtle or not, we're in." he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I gotta admit, that was pretty cool." Xander said, awe struck.

"Just stay close, and wait for my signal." Spike said to Buffy, ignoring Xander's comment.

Spike dashed off, his leather duster flapping in the wind. The rest of the gang followed behind. Willow turned and gave Buffy a small wave. Buffy returned the gesture, silently wishing them all good luck.

The Scoobs followed Spike through a hole in the fence to the right. Buffy waited till they were gone before she proceeded.

Buffy jogged on ahead, looking for any signs of activity. She caught a glimpse of a burly vampire up top inside a control booth. She jumped back against the wall. She sat the bow down and took out a stake. She coughed loudly, hoping to get the vampire's attention.

"Who's there?" the vampire called from above.

Buffy held her breath and waited patiently. The vampire appeared from around the corner. Buffy drove the stake home before he had time to react, reducing him to ash.

She picked up the crossbow and went on ahead, jogging up a set of steps to the control booth. She climbed the ladder up to the booth and entered to find a simple console inside. She pressed the power switch, and a small walkway slid from underneath the ledge on the other side and connected with her side.

She climbed down and crossed the tiny makeshift bridge, onto the next ledge and into the warehouse. She crossed through the warehouse, and opened up the door ahead into a small break room. A vampire was glancing idly out the window. Buffy took advantage of this opportunity and picked up a chair. She chucked the chair across the room, and it struck the vampire in the back. The vampire crashed through the window and landed below.

She peered out the window and saw the vampire lying by shards of broken glass, he was out cold. She aimed the crossbow down and fired. The arrow found its mark, and he dusted.

Buffy exited the break room and jogged into another dank room. Inside she found a huge conveyor belt, blocked off by a pile of boulders. If she could get the belt to work, she could see where it led. She found a switch next to the system, and pushed it. The belt did not budge.

"Power's been shut off to the conveyor belt. Does NOBODY pay their electric bills in this town?"

It was then she realized the keyhole underneath.

_Great, I need a key. I knew this would be too easy._

Buffy went back into the break room and tried the next door by the broken window. The door opened up onto a small balcony with a broken rail. Up ahead, was another balcony that led into another building. She jumped off the balcony, onto the roof of a small security office. She jogged across the roof of the office and leaped onto the next balcony. She crawled through the open window of a building, into another break room. The whole room was a mess. Blood was smeared all over the walls. A body of a man lay propped up against a large overturn table, his eyes gouged.

Buffy winced. Even though she knew he probably died awhile ago, she still felt responsible. She felt she could have been there sooner.

Buffy saw a small glint shimmer by the man's leg. She took a closer look to see a set of keys. She snatched the keys up and turned away from the body. She heard a loud screech outside, and a spiny demon skittered in through the open window. Buffy acted quickly. She grabbed the demon by its neck and spun around, releasing it. The demon flew and landed smack into one of the protruding legs of the overturned table. The demon kicked and swiped in agony, then gave up the ghost, assuming demons had ghost, Buffy didn't want to dwell on it.

She jumped through the window, onto the balcony. From the balcony, she leaped onto the roof of the security office. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, three demons similar to the one she just killed hoped onto the building simultaneously. Buffy swung her crossbow violently, smacking into the frail body of the one in front of her. The demon flew off of the building, into the waiting flames of the fire below. Buffy spun around and fired a bow into the next one. The demon fell off the roof from the impact, and died almost immediately. She turned to face the last one. The demon leaped off the roof and ran through the alley of the foundry. Buffy took aim and fired. The arrow flew into the demon's skull. Green blood and brain matter splattered over the building ahead.

"Nothing like a spot of demon slaughter to make a girl's night."

Buffy hoped off the roof and jogged past the break room, into the conveyor room. She inserted the key and pressed the switch. The conveyor belt started with a loud hum. The boulders carried up the conveyor belt, out of sight. Buffy felt reluctant to hop on. She was eager to continue her journey, to find the Master, kick his ass, and get him out of her ex-boyfriend's body, but she wasn't too sure what was up there, and she was afraid she didn't really want to find out.

---

The gang acted immediately. Giles and Willow fired their crossbows. Giles dusted one vampire successfully. Willow's aim was a little off. Her arrow struck into the gut of another vampire. Giles fired at the vamp as it doubled over, dusting him. He would have to train Willow more with the bow when they all got through this.

A handful of vampires made their way near. Spike and Xander ran out at them. Xander swung his axe, cleaving through the neck of the nearest vampire. Giles took the boy for granted. Xander proved to be quite skillful in combat when the time called. Spike pounded into a vampire savagely, beating him down to a pulp. For the first time tonight, Giles was glad Spike was on their side.

Spike continued to beat the crap out of a vampire. He busted his kneecap with a swift kick, taking him out of the fight. He spun around and unleashed on another pair of vampires. He took them down easily. He reached into his duster and pulled out one of the stakes that Buffy gave him.

"Never want to be the receiving end of one of these." He thought out loud.

He drove the stake into the downed vampires. He turned back around and drove it into the back of the other down vamp as he tried to crawl away. Up ahead, Giles and the Harris boy were holding their own with another group of vampires.

"Help!"

He looked around for the frantic call, and saw Willow against the wall. Her bow laid on the ground, broken in two. She shielded her face as a vampire lunged for her. Spike acted quickly. He ran up to the vampire and smashed his fist into the back of the vampire's skull. He rammed the stake into the vamp's back, dusting him. Willow looked up at him, wide eyed.

"Tha...thanks Spike. He almost had me for a sec."

Spike almost felt grateful for Willow's gratitude. The feeling was making him sick. He hated the witch for that.

"Don't get yourself killed, witch! We need you for the bleedin' ritual! If you run into a problem again, I'll finish you off myself. It will almost be worth it when your friends try to dust me afterwards." He tossed her a stake.

"Now sod off!"

Willow stared at him fearfully and got back up to her feet. She ran off to help Xander.

_I didn't come here to bleedin' babysit the Slayer's friends tonight. This better be over soon or someone's gonna have to pay. And I don't care who. _

_---_

_The cold was a problem earlier, but it was nothing compared to this. _Buffy thought as she walked through the hot, stuffy chamber of the melting chamber. She stood on a walkway, overlooking a giant pool of molten metal. Buffy hated to think how hot the stuff really was, and what would happen if one was to fall in…

"What was it that Giles always said?" she thought aloud. "Avoid fiery molten metal. It's really really hot, and will kill you dead."

A vampire stood above, controlling the pool of molten metal. Every once in awhile, a large amount of metal poured from a huge vat above and into the pool. Buffy needed to leap to the other side, but the metal-fall was preventing her from doing it, not like she really wanted to.

She aimed her bow at the vampire and fired. The arrow found its mark successfully. The vampire exploded into a pile of ash, and the fall ceased.

Buffy backed up and starting running to gain momentum. She leaped across the gap, and onto the next platform. She jogged through a hallway and up a ladder to the second floor. She looked through the grated fence that covered the second floor hallway, and saw a huge support beam than ran along the length of the chamber. The beam stopped at a vent on the far side. She would have to climb through the ventilation system in order to reach the Master.

One of those irritating spiny demons scampered along the beam. He noticed her, and with a graceful and powerful leap, jumped off the beam and through the fence.

_That takes care of that problem I guess._

As the demon reached her, Buffy grabbed it by the head and snapped its neck. She took a running jump through the broken fencing and onto the beam. Another demon jumped in front of her almost out of nowhere. Buffy head butted it, and it jumped backwards, losing its footing, and into the molten metal pool below, screeching the whole way.

"Music to my ears."

Buffy was suddenly knocked forward by a violent force. She lost her balance and fell off the beam. Her crossbow fell out of her hands, and into the pool. She was about to join it, but instincts took over. She grabbed the edge of the beam and held on. The demon screeched and approached her. It clawed at her hands, tempted to knock her off. She let go with one hand, grabbed the demon's ankle, and pulled. The demon fell forward, plummeting into the metal below.

Buffy gathered up her strength and hoisted herself up onto the beam. She walked carefully along the beam to the ventilation shaft. She yanked the grate off of the vent, and entered.

---

Xander, Giles, and Willow walked tiredly behind Spike, who was walking swiftly through the foundry. They all managed to take down all the vampires, well some got away, but that's not what he planned to tell Buff when they caught up with her.

Xander still didn't trust Spike, why should he? Even though Spike helped them out throughout their visit to the foundry, he was still evil. And Spike definitely wasn't doing this because he liked them, no way. Once they stopped the Master and got Drusilla back, he was sure Spike would kill them all. Xander was terrified of that thought, but he wasn't gonna go down without a fight if Spike and Drusilla turned on them.

Spike suddenly stopped at a doorway, listening quietly.

"Why did we stop?" Xander asked.

Spike put a finger up to his lips.

"Quiet, Harris." He whispered angrily. "Laibach's inside, I can hear him. You three stay in here, I'll take care of this."

Xander didn't like taking orders from Spike, but he kept quiet. No sense in getting himself killed tonight.

Spike disappeared inside the room. He heard signs of a struggle, followed by a loud crash. Moments later, Spike appeared from the doorway.

"Come on you lot. We got a ritual to do."

Xander, Giles and Willow entered into the chamber. Drusilla's frail, pale body lay limply on a table.

"So, how 'bout it then? Laibach's gonna be out for awhile. Gotta admit, I'm kinda disappointed, thought he would put up more of a fight." Spike said, looking down at Dru.

"Right, yes, of course." Giles said, putting his glasses back on. "Willow, you have the talisman, correct?"

Willow nodded her head.

"Great. You know what to do. Good luck."

"Don't worry, Giles. I got it all under control."

Willow walked on ahead, into a secluded area, the talisman in hand.

Giles extended his hand out. Xander took the duffel bag off his shoulders and handed it to him. Giles reached inside and pulled out a bunch of candles, and some funky looking masks.

"Let's get to it then." Giles said, handing him one of the masks.

---

Buffy came in with a series of punches, followed by an uppercut. The vampire fell back in surprise. Buffy picked up her stake, ready to finish him off, when rough hands grabbed her by the waist from behind and lifted her off the ground.

"Give me your throat, bitch. I'll drain you quick." The vampire said from behind her.

The vampire in front of her came back in.

"Feisty little thing, ain't cha?" the vampire taunted.

Buffy kicked out at him with both legs, and at the same time, headbutted the vampire that held her up, releasing from his grip. Buffy landed on the ground, and slid under the vampire's legs. She came up from behind him and drove the stake into his back. When the dust cleared, she was staring at the wide-eyed face of the other vampire. Buffy drove the stake into his chest, dusting him before he had a chance to react.

Buffy took in her surroundings. To her right, was another pool of molten metal, but this one was much smaller. Up above, was a walkway that led to a hatch. To her left, stood another control panel, which she guessed was used to open it. She just hoped she wouldn't need a key.

Buffy climbed the ladder behind her, to the high platform from which she came from. She took a running leap and jumped the gap between the ledge and the booth.

To her luck, no key was required once she reached it. She just simply flipped the main switch on the console, and the hatch slid open.

"That hatch may be my ticket out of here. Sure, a dirty and potentially lethal ticket, but a ticket just the same."

She jumped over the gap once more, and jogged across the walkway, through the open hatch.

After twisting and turning through various hallways, she reached a vast open chamber. Boxes were scattered along the huge floor. Buffy walked into the center of the room. Suddenly, all the doors around the room began to close. She heard various clicks follow afterwards as each of them locked. An evil laughed echoed through the huge chamber. It was a trap.

---

Spike waited impatiently as Giles chanted the spell over Drusilla. He and Xander looked bloody ridiculous with those stupid masks on, waving their fingers about. Spike was starting to get skeptical.

"This had better work. You two have seen too many Hope and Crosby "road" movies." He said.

"I assure you, it will work. Now shut up and let us finish." Giles replied sternly.

_Yeah right old man._

_---_

Willow sat cross-legged in another room, the talisman clipped to her shirt. She went over the chant carefully in her head, trying her best to keep out any other thoughts that would interrupt. As she repeated the chant, she began to feel her control over the talisman growing stronger and stronger.

---

"Welcome Slayer. I've been wondering when you would arrive." The Master's familiar voiced echoed. "After all, you and I are meant to be together."

The Master materialized in front of her, still in Angel's body. Buffy choked back, trying her best to remember that that was not Angel speaking.

"And oh, by the way, I think it's your turn to die. The time has come Slayer. I've been waiting for this all my death!"

Before she had time to react, the Master was on her. He delivered a lethal combo, which sent her tumbling to the hard floor of the chamber. It all felt too similar. Mixed emotions from her fights against Angelus and her past fight against the Master flooded in her mind. She jumped up and charged her emotions too deep to think about what she was doing. The Master extended his arm, and she was suddenly lifted from the ground and tossed like a rag doll from a powerful force.

"Come on you little bitch, time for round two." He taunted.

That line was all it took for Buffy to remember who he was. That definitely wasn't Angel she was fighting. She knew what she had to do, but she had let her emotions get the best of her. Anger built up inside her. The Master took her life once before. She remembered how he nearly sucked her dry, and left her for dead, her face buried in a puddle where she drowned. And now he was back, threatening to take Angel away from her. She wasn't ready to lose him again. The Master made a huge mistake that Spike and Drusilla made awhile back when they tried to run Sunnydale. Nobody messed with her boyfriend.

She jumped back up to her feet and faced the Master, her jaw set.

"You should have never walked into my Slayground."

Buffy charged at him. He lifted his hand up once more. Buffy rolled to the ground, dodging the mystical attack. She rolled up towards the Master and kicked her legs out. His legs gave out under impact, and he fell to the floor.

Buffy rolled up onto her feet and pummeled him with kicks and punches. The Master ducked out of the way in the middle of her attack and rolled. He came back in with a sweep attack, but Buffy was ready. Buffy leaped up, dodging his attack. She landed back down and kicked him in the side of his face. The Master fell back and held his face in agony. Buffy brought her foot down into his throat.

"If you can hear me, Angel, please stay down." She called down to him.

---

"Spike?"

Spike ran up to Drusilla at the sound of her voice.

"Hello poodle. How're we feelin'?"

"I could feel a man dancin' around in me head. I can still feel him. He is very cross with you, Spike. But he promises to leave."

"It's alright, pet. I'll take care of you when we get out of here. Then I'll promise you I'll take you to Spain."

Drusilla smiled broadly at the idea. Spike lifted her up to her feet and held on to her as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"All your talk about priorities and you still helped me out with Dru right off. I'm not gonna forget that." He said to Xander and Giles. "Time to go play hero. Oughta be good for a laugh, eh?"

---

The Master shoved Buffy's foot off and rolled out the way. He stood up from the ground, and faced her, keeping his distance.

"Like your lover, girl, you are gifted with remarkable endurance. That does not make you a warrior. Don't you see that you cannot win? In this battle either you die, or Angel does. But whatever the result, I will survive."

"Know what, Spanky? Even if I was fighting this battle alone, I'd take that bet. But the thing is, I'm not alone." She smirked.

---

The spell was complete. Willow could feel the power of the Tedarke talisman grow weaker. She wrapped her mind around it, taking control of its power. She concentrated on Angel. She could feel him struggling to retain control of his own body. Willow used some of the talisman's power to give him enough strength to gain full control over his body. Angel pushed himself back out. She could feel the Master trying to fight back. Willow lent him more strength, and Angel was able to defeat him. Angel was back.

Willow recited another spell that would keep the Master from going back in. She then concentrated on Spike and Drusilla, and repeated the same spell. The talisman's power boosted her magickal abilities, and she was able to complete the spells successfully.

Willow let go of the power, satisfied with her work. She laid on the ground, worn out from the effort. She managed to weaken the enough so Buffy would be able to control it herself when the time came for it.

"Will? You okay?" Xander called as he came running in.

"I…did it, Xander. I got Angel back."

"Normally something I, personally, wouldn't celebrate about, but, great job Will."

"Thanks."

"Can you stand up?"

"I can try." She replied tiredly.

Xander helped her up to her feet. Willow was a little wobbly at first, but she regained her footing.

"Let's go watch Spike "play hero." This is something I have to see to believe."

He and Willow caught up with Giles, and followed Spike and Drusilla out into the cooling area, where the fight was taking place.

---

"What? What is happening?" the Master asked as mist began to form around Angel's body. Angel suddenly let out a pained scream, and the form of The Master rose from his body, floating above him, a look of defeat implanted on his misty, demonic features.

"No! This body is mine!" he yelled.

Spike jumped down from above, landed near Buffy. He faced her and gave her a small nod.

"Glad to see you're in one piece, Slayer. Wouldn't want to be accused of not holding up my end of the bargain."

Buffy nodded back in return. A small form of respect came between them for a moment. Spike broke his stare to address the spectral form of the Master.

"And you, gramps. I had enough of Angelus and Darla orderin' me about in my day. Did you honestly think you could knock me about like some bloody village idiot, hold my girl for ransom, and not be watching your back?"

The Master growled in anger.

"Spike! Betrayer! Though as not pleasing to the eye, your flesh would suffice as my vessel while my plans are complete!"

He floated towards Spike, stretching his misty form out into small tendrils, attempting to take over his body. The Master was stopped by an invisible force. He jumped back in surprise, wondering what was going on. Spike grinned and flashed him the middle finger.

"Put a little crimp in your plans, I'm sorry to say. Sod off." He replied.

The Master floated higher up. He turned around and floated towards a vent on the high wall, cursing on his way out.

"Damn you! Damn you all!"

The Master was gone, for now.

Through all the drama between Spike and the Master, Buffy had almost forgotten about Angel. She saw him kneeling there in the same spot, clutching himself in pain.

"Angel!"

She ran up to him and helped him up to his feet. Angel stared at her tiredly.

"You have to stop them. The Master…the Order of Aurelius…he sent them away with the Deglon Sphere. They've gone back to the sunken church. You have to…stop them."

"Then it isn't over." She replied.

"It's over for us." Spike butted in. "I help up my end. Now it's time for Dru and me to be on our way. We don't fancy waiting around for the Order of Aurelius to exact their revenge."

"You got your girlfriend, don't come back." Buffy replied.

"Not to worry, Slayer. Dru and I have better things to do, and far more pleasant destinations. Good riddance to this horrid little town."

Spike grabbed Drusilla by the hand, and the two of them made their way out of the foundry. Buffy silently wished him thanks.

She wrapped her arm around Angel's broad shoulders, and the two of them limped behind Xander, Willow, and Giles as they made their way back to the library to go over their next set of plans to stop the Master.


	12. Taking the Offensive

Xander, Willow, and Cordelia sat at the table while Angel leaned casually against the book cage. Giles paced back and forth around the room, continuously rubbing at his glasses with a handkerchief. Buffy sat on top of the check-out counter, throwing out her concerns for what was going to happen next.

"How can the Master still be running things if he's just a ghost now?" Buffy asked Giles. "I thought when Willow magicked him out of Angel, that'd be the end of it."

Giles placed his glasses back on.

"Um…unfortunately, it seems the spell that was used to draw his essence to this plane was powerful enough that he does not require a host shell." He replied.

"So how do we take him down?"

"I'm sorry to say that it appears in order to truly defeat the Master, we must first restore him to his corporeal form."

After what she had just been through tonight, Buffy could not believe what she was hearing.

"Wait. Give him_back _a body!"

"Not find him another host, Buffy. We'll need to actually transform his spirit into flesh. It's the only way."

Buffy hated the sound of it, but she needed to know more about what Giles was talking about.

"Giles, stop pacing. You're making me nervous. What about this flesh transformy thingy?"

Giles stopped pacing and turned to her.

"While you enter the church, the rest of us will perform a rather complicated spell that will temporarily restore the Master back to physical form. The spell is quite tricky and the Master will only remain physically manifested while the spell is being performed."

"Makin' with the mojo." Xander cheered from the table. "Does that make me a warlock?" Everyone glanced at him. "Sorry, just kinda excited about wielding the magick. But no more funky tribal masks, they ruin my credibility."

"Like you need help with that." Cordelia replied, rolling her eyes.

Buffy glanced away from them to see Angel still leaning against the cage. He looked worn out from tonight's crazy events, especially after gaining back control of his body and all.

"Hey, you sure you're gonna be all right?" she asked him softly.

Angel forced a smile.

"I'm sure. Whatever "all right" is, thanks to you, that's what I'll be."

"Oh sure,_now_ you're all right, when it's convenient not to be evil!" Cordelia butted in.

"Oh, good, evil, what should I be? So hard to decide!"

"I'm pretty wary too, Cordelia, but…it wasn't Angel this time." Willow said. "He was possessed by the Master. He wasn't evil, so much as a hotel for evil."

"Why is the evil never his fault? We're all just a big bunch of darkness enablers, aren't we?" she retorted.

"Hold on. Just because I don't like to talk about my past doesn't mean I don't accept the responsibility for it. I bear that burden everyday. But this time around, the choices weren't mine. I was used."

"Oh whine whine whine. Join the club. You want to know what's it's like to be used? Date a quarterback!"

"Can we just go? If we don't track the Master down fast, it may be too late to stop him." He replied impatiently.

"Oh no. Between the Master possessing you, and what we had to do to break you loose, you're in no shape to fight. I need you here." Buffy protested.

"Here? What good am I going to do anyone here?"

"Well, you've been around some magick in your time. Perhaps you can aid Willow and I in our preparation." Giles offered.

"Angel, I'm sorry, but I wouldn't be able to focus if I was worrying the whole time."

Angel let out a deep sigh.

"Don't worry, I'll make myself useful. Even if I can't help with the actual sorcery, I can still help. The more people involved in this spell, the more powerful it is. I'll stick with Giles and the others and help turn the Master into a Buffy punching bag."

Everyone silently agreed. Willow suddenly perked up and rose from the table. She came up to Buffy with the talisman in her hand.

"Oh yeah, Buffy, I almost forgot to remind you. When you get inside the church, things might be kinda wacky. With the Dreamers' power to warp reality, who knows what kind of twisted landscape they'll create."

Buffy shrugged her shoulders.

"Can't be any worse than L.A"

"No matter what happens around you, you're gonna need to stay focused. To do that, I'm thinking maybe you should wear the necromancer's talisman. I found a spell that I can cast on it that, amplified by the talisman's own power, should guide you through whatever reality the Dreamers create."

She handed her the talisman. Once again, she could feel its power circulate through her body, but it was a lot less powerful than before. She found herself able to gain control of it. Her senses grew keen and sharp.

"Wow, what a rush. Thanks Will."

Xander and Cordelia stood up and joined them.

"Shouldn't we get on with it? This is already seeming like the longest night of my life." He said impatiently.

"Xander's right. We should get going, Buffy." Angel said.

"Right, let's head out. Cordelia, can you drive?"

"I'll somehow manage to survive."

"Good. Then Willow and Xander, you two ride with Cordy. Angel and I will ride in Giles' car."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Giles went to the book cage and passed out weapons. They all made their way out of the library. Buffy walked next to Cordelia, who was limping most of the way.

"How's your ankle?" she asked her.

"I think it's sprained. Thanks to that creepy screaming thingy that attacked me I'll never be able to lead the cheerleading squad now." She replied sadly.

She sighed and turned to Buffy as they walked.

"As much as it pains me to say, Buffy, you'll have to make the team for the both of us. Oh…and good luck with the whole saving the world thing."

Buffy was surprised to hear those words coming from Cordelia. She was expected a smart ass, snooty remark that everyone else was so used to hearing from her. Cordelia wasn't that bad of a person when she tried not to be.

"Thanks, Cordy. I'll do my best."

---

Buffy stood in the corner of the small room with Angel and Giles, going over what to do next after they all rendezvoused at the tunnels that would lead them to the Master. Cordelia, Willow, and Xander stood nearby.

"It's weird, Buffy. The Master's gone, but it's like I can still hear echoes of him in my head." Angel said. "He's completely obsessed now. In some ways it's like he's more driven than ever to bring the Old Ones to Earth because then wrecking havoc, that would feel like he had his revenge on you. I think we've just started to get an idea of the intensity of his rage and hatred towards you."

"Feelin' a big 'oh yeah?' coming on." Buffy replied. "Baldy keeps messing with my love-loved ones. Time for me to show him the intensity of my rage and hatred."

"For what it's worth, I'd say you're off to a good start. Some of us are already feeling it. I'm just glad we're on the same side again."

"So am I."

They smiled at each other.

"Before we continue with anything, there is one thing I want to remind you of." Giles said to Buffy, interrupting the moment. "If we're to successfully restore the Master to physical form, all those involved in casting the spell must focus their total concentration. Unfortunately, we must factor in the possibility of human error. Particularly given the usual level of concentration in this bunch. Thus, there's a chance that the Master may momentarily shift between phantasmal and corporeal form."

"Getting the idea that's a bad thing."

"Well, it's certainly not a good thing. You'll only be able to destroy him when he is in physical form."

"Right then, thanks for the warning. And you're going to make sure that human error factor is a small one, right?"

"I'll do my best."

Giles' words weren't helping her much. Xander must have seen what she was feeling.

"Don't worry, Buffster, you'll kick the Master's ass again." He said, coming up to her. "It's like peanut butter and jelly, your foot and the Master's ass. Am I making any sense here? Hopefully he'll have the common sense to stay dead this time. The real dead, not that living dead crap."

"You're making perfect sense. I'm still sore from when he killed me a year ago, so this won't be too much of a problem. Still, I can't shake the serious wiggins this is all giving me."

"Well, if it helps, and assuming the world isn't overrun by rampaging, flesh-eating demons tonight, liquid refreshments at The Bronze are on me."

"Yum. That's what I call incentive." Buffy gushed.

"That's right, you be a good Slayer, and kill all the nasty demons, and I'll buy you something sweet and treaty."

"Thanks Xander."

Cordelia and Willow came up to her.

"Don't worry, Buffy. I've memorized enough cheers, not to mention state capitals, that I'll get this materialization spell right." Cordelia assured. "'Klaatu, barata…' Anyways, I'll get it. I can always mumble the stuff I don't know."

"Oh, thanks. I'm all aglow with reassurance." Buffy replied sarcastically

Cordelia sighed.

"Just don't get hurt. Without you, the cheer squad will have to draft Pepsi Whiting and she's got clown feet and the agility of a pregnant buffalo."

Buffy stood quietly, not sure of what to say to her. She wasn't used to Cordelia worrying about her like that. Luckily, Willow cut into the uncomfortable silence.

"You oughta get going, Buffy. We really need to prepare for the materialization spell, and you really need to prevent Hell on Earth."

"Again? We did that last week." Buffy joked, trying to lighten herself up.

"Willow's right. The Master may be getting on in his centuries, but age hasn't slowed him down." Angel chipped in.

"Yeah, well I slowed him down once before, remember? I killed him. Guess I just have to do it again."

"Just be careful He killed you once too." He warned.

"Yeah. It's one to one. This one's for the championship."


	13. Realm of Dreams

Buffy found herself in the main room of tunnel system after splitting up from the gang. The room was empty save for a large hatch on the far right, and a switch close by she guessed opened it. She also noticed a bunch of metal barrels grouped up next to the switch. Each one had FLAMMABLE on the front of them, painted in red letters.

Buffy pulled the switch down. The hatch rose up slowly. A huge, panting beast lumbered from the open hatch. Buffy remembered fighting a couple of them last night when she chased Spike down when he abducted Willow. They looked like oversized dogs from Hell. Buffy labeled them Hellhounds.

Buffy acted quickly before it had a chance to do anything. She came in and pummeled him with a series of kicks. The Hound retreated, avoiding the rest of her fury. It howled into the air. Its loud howl reverberated on the stone walls. She could tell it was ready to charge at her, full force.

Buffy back flipped away from the Hellhound, distancing herself away from it. The Hound reared his head down and charged. Buffy flipped out of his path. The Hound charged head-on into the barrels. The barrels exploded in a burst of flame. The Hellhound bellowed in agony. It fell to the ground, burning quickly before it was reduced to charcoal.

Buffy jogged through the open hatch, into another dimly lit chamber. Smoke rose from the opening up ahead.

She heard somebody whistling behind her. She spun around and saw a vampire leaning casually against the wall. He continued whistling. Buffy was about to make a smart comment about him, when she heard heavy pounding coming from behind her. She turned around in time to face another huge Hound before it smashed its massive head into her. It brought its head up just as it hit her, driving her into the air. She landed on the ground at least eight feet from behind the beast.

Buffy leaped to her feet. The vampire stared at her menacingly, the Hound at his side.

"Sick her." He said

The Hound growled and began to charge. Buffy reached into her pocket and pulled out a bottle of holy water Willow had given her before they left the school. She was surprised it didn't shatter when the Hound smacked into her.

The Hellhound charged. Buffy threw the holy water. The glass smashed into its face and shattered. The Hound shrieked in pain, as its face began to bubble. It shook its head furiously, almost as if he would be able to shake the water off before any real damage was done. Buffy ran up to it, and brought the stake into its back. The Hound shrieked one last time, before it disinigrated.

"That was mine, you bitch!" the vampire cried.

The vampire ran at her in a fit. Buffy brought the stake back up, and rammed it into his chest before he grabbed her, dusting him.

"Too bad. They really made a great pair."

Buffy looked around and sighed. She was exhausted from the whole ordeal. This had to be the hundredth vampire she slayed in the past two nights.

"If I see another vampire, it will be too soon." She sighed.

Buffy walked on through the tunnels, eager to find the Master and get this over with.

---

Cordelia practiced the spell over an over in her head. She felt like she almost had the full hang of it, but she couldn't stop worrying about the cheerleading squad. She couldn't continue because of her injuries. It was all up to Buffy. Sure, Buffy was terrible, and she had the gracefulness of an elephant trying to learn the river dance, but Cordelia was counting on her. She was sure if Buffy tried hard enough, she would make it.

_But if you don't concentrate now, Cordy, there won't be any squad to worry about the next day. Or anything else for that matter. _

Cordelia silently wished Buffy good luck, and continued practicing the spell.

---

"Oooh. Shiny buttons and switches. Look important. Must press"

Buffy pushed the series of buttons on the walls of the sunken church. After traveling through the tunnels, dusting vampires and killing demons, she finally made it to the Master's domain.

She pushed the switches, hoping they would open up the huge doors that led inside the church where the Master was awaiting. A series of clicks, followed by a loud creak confirmed hey theory.

Another clicking sounded from behind. Like the sound of claws clicking on the stone floor. She felt something sneaking up from behind her. She drove her elbow back, into the face of the demon behind her. She spun around, coming in with a spinning kick, just as the demon backed off. The demon flew back, crashing into the body of another demon that was making its way over. They both fell, thrashing around on the ground, attempting to get up.

Buffy ran up to them and drove the stake into the back of one of them, killing it instantly. The second up propped itself up against the wall. Buffy grabbed her stake, ready to finish it off, when another demon grabbed her from behind. Buffy headbutted it in the face, then came around with a spinning punch. The vicious blow to the face caused the demon's neck to snap. The demon fell limply to the ground.

Buffy looked around to see six more demons pouring out around her. She knew it would be impossible to fight them all. If not, at least, a waste of time and energy trying to dispose pf them. She ran ahead where she came in at, the group of demons on her tail. She ran around to the front of the church, and went inside. She grabbed hold of the huge door, and with all her strength, pushed it close. Crushing a couple of the demons who tried to enter.

She leaned against the door and sat down to catch her breath. She was going to have to muster up all her energy before she squared off against the Master again.

---

The Master floated above the ground, looking down at the gaping pit the Dreamer's had created. The spell was almost complete. Soon, the bridge between both realms would be completed, unleashing Hell on Earth. He didn't know what became of Laibach, but he was grateful for the favor of bringing him back to this realm.

Nothing could break his mood right now, not even after William's betrayal. William was an idiot; he knew that from the start. He should have known better to trust him in the first place. If he would have been informed of his betrayal earlier, he would have disposed of him as soon as he was resurrected.

The Slayer was no longer a nuisance to him. He knew she wasn't going to just let this go. Her and her meddling friends were probably making their way over here right now. The Master would take care of her. There was no sport in killing her outright. It would be much more fun to let the Dreamer's take care of her. He was curious of what they were capable of.

He heard the sound of heavy breathing behind him. He turned around to see the Slayer making her way over to him, out of breath apparently from the obstacles she had to face to get this far into the church.

"Oh, it's you again. Hello Slayer. I suppose I should be angrier with you for that little exorcism of yours. But honestly, I find this spirituality quite liberating. I must say, though, your do-gooder tenacity is proving to be quite annoying. Please stand aside and be patient. I'll get back to killing you shortly."

"I don't think so." She replied sharply.

"I don't have time for you right now, Slayer. I'm quite busy orchestrating the end of the world. I think it's time for you to…get lost!"

The Master shot out his hand, and levitated her off the ground. He threw his arm back. The Slayer flung through the air at his command, and plummeted into the gaping pit, into the reality of the Dreamers. There was no way she we be able to find her way out.

_Well, not before the end of the world anyways._

_---_

The fall felt never ending. Buffy felt like she was going to land in China or something. Finally, she hit ground, hard. She sat up stiffly, and got slowly up to her feet. She looked around to see where she landed.

Everything seemed out of place. The sky was a dark shade of purple. She looked on ahead to see a series of platforms. Each one moved in its own, funky direction. It reminded Buffy of one of those old Sega platform games she watched Xander play at his house on some weekends.

"Ooo-kay, not in Sunnydale anymore."

Buffy took a deep breath and started the treacherous journey to wherever in the hell she was supposed to be going. She silently prayed she be back in time to save her own world from crumbling.

---

Willow walked around in a circle, lighting the candles. Xander and Angel spread the salts and herbs used in the spell, while Giles told them directions. They let Cordelia sit out until the spell was prepared. She was sitting off to the side, looking through the spellbook and reciting the lines to herself. Willow gained more respect for her. Cordelia was trying really hard to get this right. And surprisingly, she hadn't lashed out at anyone since they got here. She must have realized the danger they were in. If they didn't get the spell right, Buffy could get killed. And the whole world would be joining her soon after.

They were all afraid. But Willow had faith in them all. The spell will work out, Buffy would kill the Master again, and everything will be back to normal. Well, as normal as a small town sitting on the Hellmouth can get, anyways. Oz will come back and spend more time with her, Xander and Cordelia will continue on with their wacky relationship, Giles will get back to his beloved books, and Buffy will continue on fighting the good fight. And Faith will probably get a hold of herself and join them again.

Willow replayed the scenario in her mind over and over as she finished lighting all the candles. She set the last candle down and watched as the rest of the gang finished up preparation.

---

Buffy stared at the familiar figure that stood ahead, its back turned. The figure turned around as Buffy took a few steps forward. She was staring back at a copy of herself. The other Buffy was dressed in all black. It wore black leather pants with a matching top. Her hair was also black. She looked like an evil gothic version of herself.

Dark Buffy stared back at her, jaw set. The look was all too familiar to her. It gave her the shivers.

"Welcome to my nightmare." Dark Buffy said.

Buffy was too awe-struck to do anything as Dark Buffy ran up to her and snapped a kick at her jaw, sending her down. Buffy regained her senses and rolled out the way as Dark Buffy kicked at her. Buffy rolled in and swept her foot out. Her foot caught her in the legs, and she went down.

Buffy got back on her feet. This was all too surreal. It was one thing having to fight against Angel, but she was fighting against herself. It would take some serious therapy to shake of the wiggins this was giving her.

She caught a glimmer in the corner of her eye. She looked over to see a skeleton propped up against a column, a sword in hand. Buffy ran up and snatched the weapon out of the skeleton's grasp. Its arm broke off with a brittle snap. Buffy grabbed the sword in both hands and faced her doppelganger.

Dark Buffy stood up and stretched her arm out. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a sword similar to the one Buffy held materialized in her outstretched hand. Dark Buffy brought the sword back in a battle stance.

Buffy came in and made the first swing. Dark Buffy brought the sword up, blocking the swing. Buffy swung the blade in an arc. Dark Buffy brought her blade back down, and dodged the next swing. They both clashed their swords together. Both swinging furiously, ducking and dodging each other's moves. Sparks flew from their clashing blades from the intense battle.

Buffy felt herself growing tired. The battle continued on. Dark Buffy wasn't breaking a sweat. She felt her arms getting weak. She tried to back off. Dark Buffy came back in and swung the blade hard. The sword flew out of Buffy's grasp, and slid across the ground. Buffy watched hopelessly as the sword slid off the ledge, into the dark abyss.

Buffy was defenseless. She spun around and ran, Dark Buffy hot on her heels. She leaped up onto a rise in the platform, and backflipped in the air as Dark Buffy brought her sword down. She landed behind her and snapped a powerful kick at the back of her head. A loud snap sounded, and Dark Buffy fell limply to the floor. Sparks flew into the air where Dark Buffy once stood, and she was no more.

Buffy threw the sword down and took a deep breath. Her body shook involuntarily. The thought of killing herself creeped her out past any level of creepiness. She couldn't wait until this was all over. She walked over to the end of the ledge. Platforms suddenly formed out of nowhere, covering over the huge gap between the other area where she had just came from, and where she now stood.

She made her way over to the other side, and walked up to the end of that platform, into a circular area. A huge, gaping black hole formed in the sky above her head. Bolts of energy emitted from the gap and lifted her off her feet, and pulled her through. Darkness enveloped her, and she felt like she was falling again.

After another long fall, she hit ground again. She stood up slowly, to find herself in a long, stone chamber.

_This must be another realm. _

She walked down the stone chamber, and found a door at the end. The door opened up into a narrow hallway. The hallway branched off into many different directions. It was like a maze.

She walked down the hallway, and took the first left. The hall continued all the way down, turning right at the end. She made the right and continued down. She made another right, and found herself back in the same hallway she was in earlier. But on the right side this time instead of the left.

"I feel like I'm on television…or some other drug. Why does it feel like I'm chasing my tail? Especially since I'm lacking a tail?"

A glowing light suddenly emitted from her pocket. She reached in and took out the talisman. She had forgotten all about it until now. She was amazed that she had managed to make it this far without it.

The talisman glowed a dark shade of red. She could feel its power surging through her body again. Her senses once again growing keen and sharp. Holding it gave her a sense of direction. If she paid attention to it, and got hold on its power, she would be able to make it out on time.

"Guess I'd better pay attention to the talisman if I wanna get outta here."

She grasped the talisman in her hand and continued down the hall, confident that she would find a way out.

---

After what felt like hours of running around through the maze, watching the talisman, and following her keen senses that it gave her, Buffy finally managed to reach the end of the maze. Another portal formed and transported her to another realm.

When she landed, she found herself in an arena similar to the one she fought her doppelganger in, only much bigger. The area was closed off, encircled by a massive gate supported by stone pillars. Torches were lined along the pillars.

A Dreamer floated above. It was attached to two long metal rods. Its head twisted in agony, much like the one she fought back at the docks.

Energy built up and crackled around its body. Buffy jumped out the way as a bolt struck the ground in front of her. She performed a diving roll, and took cover behind a fallen column. Buffy looked around desperately for a weapon. Her prayers were answered when she found a stray crossbow lying on the ground close by.

She jumped up from behind the column and grabbed the bow. She ran back up to the column and hid behind. The Dreamer shot out another bolt of energy in her general direction. It missed her by inches, striking the side of the fallen column.

Buffy came back up and quickly took aim.

"Just hold that pose, sweetheart."

She fired the crossbow, and the bolt hit the Dreamer directly in the skull. The Dreamer twitched and writhed vigorously. A blinding light suddenly blasted out. Buffy shielded her face.

The light dimmed out. Buffy stood in another arena. The column was gone. So was the crossbow. She looked around, only to see another Dreamer hovering there. This one was similar to the other two, only it had two metallic spheres circling around it. Buffy didn't want to imagine the damage those things could do if the Dreamer got close, and she didn't want to find out.

She ran around the arena, dodging the Dreamer as it charged for her, attempting to rip her to shreds with its sharp, rotating spheres. Buffy felt herself begin to tire out. She was going to have to end this soon.

Buffy dodged another attack by jumping off to the side, landing by a pillar. She reached up and snatched a torch off the wall. The Dreamer charged at her again. Buffy dropped down before it reached her. The Dreamer shot past her and came to a halt just in front of her. Buffy quickly got up to her feet lit the Dreamer on fire. The Dreamer burst into flames. It screamed and wriggled in agony as the flames engulfed its body.

"Burn baby burn."

The Dreamer scream died off, and it fell to the ground, withered and black.

Buffy had finally killed the rest of the Dreamers. She knew it was time to get out of this twisted world they created. She had another bone to pick with someone.

Buffy waited as the dark portal opened up and lifted her off her feet.


	14. The Championship

The ground shook violently. Bits of rocks and rubble crumbled from the high ceiling and landed on the ground beneath the Master's feet. The rite was almost completed. Hell-on-Earth was virtually minutes away. The whole world would crumble. And he would be there to witness it all.

_And best of all, no Slayer._

She was still trapped in the Dreamer's dimension, hopefully dead. He didn't really care what became of the Slayer down there, as long as she stayed out of his way.

Suddenly, the tremors stop. He looked up to see what the Dreamers were doing. They began to fade. The Dreamers floated towards the open gap, getting dimmer and dimmer as they got closer. Soon, they were gone, just like that.

_Wha…what happened?_

The answer to his question came from behind him.

"I'm back! Did you miss me?"

He turned around to see the Slayer smirking at him. He let a growl of utter frustration.

"Aaaaarrrrrrgggggggg!"

"I guess that's a big fat no." she smirked.

Hot rage surged through his body. His anger almost uncontrollable. He started for her, ready to rip her into shreds.

---

Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, and Angel sat in circle around the mixture of herbs and salts. A candle sat in front of each of them. They closed their eyes and concentrated on the image of the Master, freeing their minds of everything else. Giles began the spell. Soon, everyone joined him.

"Lords of light and dark, guardians of the gate, of the twixt order and chaos, hear our pleas. This abomination, a wound upon the world, must be sealed. This specter must be anchored to the world of flesh. Now return form and weight, now return blood and bone. Take this spirit and make it of flesh…"

---

The Master stopped suddenly in his tracks. The white mist around him began to dissipate. He looked around at his hands as they began to form into flesh.

"What is this? It can't be. This must be some fortuitous side effect of the Dreamer's last burst of power as they died."

When the mist finally cleared, Buffy was staring back at the Master as he was that year ago when she ground him to dust.

"Well, well, well. Guess this is just your unlucky day."

Buffy smiled smugly.

"Not to be a killjoy, but the Dreamers had nothing to do with it. It's magick, moron. A spell my friends whipped up."

"Don't be ridiculous. They would be insane to return me to flesh and bone."

"I think you're missing the point. I couldn't touch you while you were all spooky ghost."

She got into a defensive stance as the Master approached.

"Now then, touch."

She kicked the Master just as she said the last word. He disappeared after the kick, and materialized further away. He ran down the hall. Buffy gave chase. She sprinted down the long hallway. The hallway dead ended at a huge glass window.

She spun around, confused.

_Where did he go?_

The Master materialized in front of her. He stretched out his arm and lifted her off the ground. He shot his arm forward, sending her crashing through the window. She crashed down onto the balcony below.

The Master rematerialized in front of her, and lifted her off the ground again before she had a chance to get up. She flew off the ledge, onto the ground far below.

Every bone in her body felt like it was broken. She tried her best to gather up all her strength. She knew she had to get up, or the Master was definitely going to kill her.

The ground underneath her began to tremble. She looked around in a frightened panic. Cracks and fissures formed around her. The floor was about to crumble.

Buffy gathered up her strength, and rolled out the way. The floor gave in just as she tumbled onto solid ground. She rose to her feet, only to be knocked back down by a strong uppercut as the Master appeared in front of her.

"Slayer! Your time has come at last!"

Buffy snapped a kick from the ground as the Master leaned over her, connecting with his jaw. She flipped up to her feet and faced the Master as he cradled his face.

She came in and performed a series of punches and kicks at him. Unleashing her anger out on him from all the trouble he had given her since she moved to Sunnydale. She killed him once, she would do it again.

She knocked him back with a fierce kick, knocking him back. She ran up and performed a bicycle kick, a powerful move Giles had taught her earlier. The Master quickly recuperated from the attack and threw a fierce blow to her face. She grabbed his arm, blocking the move. She spun around, and broke his arm on her shoulder.

The Master screamed and knocked her back with his free hand. He cradled his broken arm, seething in rage and pain.

"The Master. You're uglier than the last one. Wait, you are the last one."

She withdrew her stake and came in for the kill.

---

Cordelia repeated the lines to the spell over and over with the rest of the group. She was pretty damn proud of herself. She managed to keep up so far. She hoped Buffy was keeping up with the fight. The Master so deserved to get his ass kicked. Cordelia's mind began to wander. She thought about what was going to happen once the Master was dusted again. Buffy was going to make the squad, and become the best damn cheerleader in Sunnydale. She would send the squad to the cheerleading competition, and win the medal. And Cordelia will be on her side, her personal trainer.

Cordelia suddenly lost track. The gang continued the spell without her. She struggled in panic to pick back up with them.

"This abomination, a wound upon the world…"

---

Buffy drove the stake into the Master's chest. The stake went right through him. She looked up to see the ghost of the Master smiling down at her.

"Whoops."

The Master levitated her off the ground and tossed her to the side. She slid across the floor and off the ledge. She grabbed a hold of the ledge, struggling to get back up.

"Don't….you ever get…sick of…that move?" she taunted as she struggled for her life.

"Kinda hard to come up with a witty line while you're struggling for your life, isn't it Slayer? Let's finish this off once and for all."

---

Cordelia waited until the gang finished the next go-around of the spell. She picked herself back up just as they repeated the lines from the beginning

"Lords of light and dark, guardians of the gate, of the twixt order and chaos…"

---

The Master stopped again, and looked at himself in confusion as he began to turn corporeal again. She had a short amount of time before he advance on her again.

She mustered up her strength and pulled up on to the ledge. She sprinted towards the Master and leaped up in the air. She spun around in mid-air and came in with a powerful kick to his chest. The Master flew back into a burning pile of wood, and landed directly into a protruding splinter. The huge splinter pierced through his heart. The Master stood suspended, looking down at the fatal wound.

"Now this just suc…"

The Master was once again, nothing more than a pile of ashes and bones.

Buffy stood in the dark room of the sunken church, looking down at the pile. For the first time tonight, she felt like everything was over. The Master was dead, Angel was back, and she was still in one piece.

Her victory was short live when a violent tremor shook the walls of the church, threatening to crash the ceiling down over her head.

A huge pillar broke and tumbled over the ledge. The end of the pillar struck the ledge on the far side of the gap. Buffy ran up, and jumped on top of the pillar. She ran across to the other side.

"Buffy!" a familiar voice called down to her. She looked up to see her friends running up. Buffy smiled. They were okay.

"Buffy! You're all right!" Giles called down.

Xander made it over to the end of the ledge and extended his arm out to her.

"I suggest we get outta here!" he called down.

Buffy jumped up and grabbed his hand. Angel came up next to him and reached out for her other hand. Together, the both of them lifted her up.

She hugged Xander and Angel quickly, then ran out through the opening where Giles and Willow were waiting. She heard the church crumbling down from behind her, as they all ran through the caves, and out into the streets of Sunnydale, out of harm's way.

**Epilogue**

Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia sat around a small table at the Bronze the next night.

"That was one hell of a night, if I do say so myself." Xander said.

"And the best thing about it is, no one got hurt." Willow replied.

Cordelia cleared her throat loudly.

"Except, Cordelia. But, you didn't get seriously hurt, right?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Cordy got hurt. As long as she isn't lying on the ground, dying from internal bleeding, why worry about it? Thank you so much for your enthusiasm. And it doesn't help that Buffy didn't have the consideration at least to pass the squad." Cordelia rambled.

Xander patted her on the back.

"Its okay, Cord. There's still a position out there for water girl. You can save the team during the game from getting parched."

Everyone giggled. All except for Buffy. Who seemed to be sitting there, looking down at the table.

"What's the matter, Buffy? Still suffering from post-Master-slayage depression?" Willow asked her.

"Nope. Just coming to grip with me not making the cheerleading squad again. I've got spirit as well as spunk, damnit. More spunk than you can shake a stick at."

Buffy looked down at the dancers. She noticed a vampire walking towards the exit, a thin brunette under his arms.

Buffy stood up and withdrew her stake. It was time to continue doing her duty as the Slayer.

"Oh well, duty calls. I'd like to see those pompom girls try making my squad."

She ran off to chase after the vampire.

---

Giles sat in his living room, his journal laid out on the table. He took a sip of brandy and picked up his journal. As opposed as he was to some of the rules and habits of the Watcher's Council, he found keeping a journal on Buffy's adventures a good habit. Hopefully someday in the future, another Watcher would stumble upon it and hear about the greatest Slayer that ever lived.

He picked up the journal and began writing.

_And once again, the Master is no more. She ground his bones to dust. And now she had to destroy his spirit as well. Buffy's time as Slayer has taught her one thing above else: Evil lingers. It's always there, waiting. Fortunately, there is always a Slayer to combat it. One girl in all the world. The Chosen One. Buffy Summers_


End file.
